Choreo LLC Reduces Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Choreo LLC lowered its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 111,647 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17,190 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $3,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,381,000 after buying an additional 149,896 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,812,000 after buying an additional 111,309 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth $2,792,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth $2,013,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 73.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 153,281 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,867,000 after buying an additional 64,745 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.8 %

FFBC stock opened at $29.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

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.