First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.80.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James cut First Foundation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wedbush lowered their price target on First Foundation from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Foundation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of First Foundation from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 price target on shares of First Foundation in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd.

First Foundation Stock Performance

First Foundation stock opened at $6.77 on Monday. First Foundation has a 1 year low of $4.41 and a 1 year high of $11.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $382.59 million, a PE ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 1.33.

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $164.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.23 million. First Foundation had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 1.07%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First Foundation will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Foundation

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFWM. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Foundation during the first quarter worth $25,000. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in First Foundation in the 1st quarter worth $123,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in First Foundation during the 4th quarter worth about $126,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the 1st quarter valued at about $128,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 8.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 20,759 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632 shares in the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Foundation

First Foundation Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides banking services, investment advisory, wealth management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Wealth Management. It offers a range of deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, money market accounts, and time certificate of deposits; and loan products consisting of multifamily and single family residential real estate loans, commercial real estate loans, commercial term loans, and line of credits, as well as consumer loans, such as personal installment loans and line of credits, and home equity line of credits.