<div id="readability-page-1"><p>First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) Director Dawn C. Morris sold 787 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.15, for a total value of $19,006.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $192,234. This trade represents a 9.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.</p><h2>First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance</h2><p>Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.00 on Friday, hitting $24.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 174,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,034. The stock's 50-day moving average is $23.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.25. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. </p><p>First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The business had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.  On average, equities research analysts forecast that  First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio  is 39.83%. </p><h2>Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.</h2><p>Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FFBC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of  First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter.  Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of  First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000.  CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of  First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter.  Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of  First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of  First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. </p><h2>Analyst Ratings Changes</h2><p>FFBC has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a &#34;hold&#34; rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods cut their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a &#34;market perform&#34; rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a &#34;sector perform&#34; rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th.</p><p><b>Get Our Latest Report on FFBC</b></p><h2>About First Financial Bancorp.</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than First Financial Bancorp.</li><li>Why Are These Companies Considered Blue Chips?</li><li>Nike’s Amazon Expansion Could Signal a Turnaround in 2025</li><li>Ride Out The Recession With These Dividend Kings </li><li>Intel’s Turnaround May Be the Best Bet No One’s Watching</li><li>How to Effectively Use the MarketBeat Ratings Screener</li><li>3 Defense Stocks That Will Profit From a Golden Dome</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/InsiderTradesChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9RkZCQw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/InsiderTradesChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9RkZCQw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in First Financial Bancorp. Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider First Financial Bancorp., you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and First Financial Bancorp. wasn't on the list.</p><p>While First Financial Bancorp. currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

FFBC

<p>Dawn C. Morris, a director at First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC), sold 787 shares of the company's stock on May 30th for $24.15 per share, totaling $19,006.05. This sale reduced her ownership by 9%, leaving her with 7,960 shares valued at approximately $192,234. The transaction was disclosed to the SEC. The stock's recent performance shows a trading price of $24.27, with a market cap of $2.32 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, payable on June 16th, with a yield of 3.95%.</p>

Dawn C. Morris Sells 787 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock