First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) Shares Gap Down to $12.74

Shares of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM – Get Rating) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $12.74, but opened at $12.31. First Foundation shares last traded at $11.95, with a volume of 57,415 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FFWM shares. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of First Foundation from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. TheStreet lowered shares of First Foundation from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, November 14th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of First Foundation from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $17.50 to $16.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of First Foundation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Foundation has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.75.

First Foundation Trading Down 9.1 %

The company has a market cap of $652.53 million, a PE ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $15.11 and its 200-day moving average is $16.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.04. First Foundation had a net margin of 24.44% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $81.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.93 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Foundation Inc. will post 0.86 EPS for the current year.

First Foundation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 6th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 3rd. First Foundation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Ulrich E. Keller, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.36, for a total value of $409,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,263,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,662,909.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Amy Djou sold 3,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $48,055.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,044.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Ulrich E. Keller, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.36, for a total transaction of $409,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,263,014 shares in the company, valued at $20,662,909.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 10.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Foundation

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in First Foundation by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,817,772 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,735,000 after purchasing an additional 691,494 shares in the last quarter. rhino investment partners Inc acquired a new stake in First Foundation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,629,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Foundation by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,506,062 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,872,000 after purchasing an additional 517,634 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Foundation by 209.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 624,703 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,952,000 after purchasing an additional 422,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in First Foundation by 32.7% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,257,690 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,758,000 after buying an additional 309,862 shares during the last quarter. 69.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Foundation

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First Foundation, Inc is a bank holding, which engages in the provision of a comprehensive platform of financial services to individuals, businesses, and organizations. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Other. The company was founded by John Avak Hakopian and Ulrich Emanuel Keller, Jr.