First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research firms have also commented on FFWM. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of First Foundation from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James raised shares of First Foundation from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $9.50 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, January 5th.

First Foundation Price Performance

FFWM stock opened at $6.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. First Foundation has a 12 month low of $3.69 and a 12 month high of $11.47. The firm has a market cap of $343.58 million, a P/E ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.49.

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.03. First Foundation had a negative net margin of 32.44% and a positive return on equity of 1.11%. The firm had revenue of $56.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.03 million. On average, analysts anticipate that First Foundation will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Foundation

In related news, Chairman Ulrich E. Keller, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of First Foundation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.16, for a total transaction of $204,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,230,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,041,875.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 10.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Foundation

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFWM. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in First Foundation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in First Foundation by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 312,460 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,900,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new stake in First Foundation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,140,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Foundation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,843,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in First Foundation by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,926 shares of the bank’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 8,888 shares during the period. 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.