First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) saw a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the October 31st total of 1,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 419,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,600. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at approximately $300,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,425 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at $762,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 149,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth $265,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC traded down $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 291,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,994. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.01. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.