Inspire Investing LLC Sells 1,373 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,820 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,373 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,154,000 after purchasing an additional 39,655 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,472 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 901,908 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,755,000 after purchasing an additional 36,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $122,080.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $27.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $20.59 and a 52-week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. As a group, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.