First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) Receives “Neutral” Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reissued their neutral rating on shares of First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $7.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of First Foundation from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

First Foundation Trading Down 0.5 %

FFWM stock opened at $5.92 on Wednesday. First Foundation has a 52-week low of $3.69 and a 52-week high of $11.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $334.54 million, a P/E ratio of -1.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.57.

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. First Foundation had a positive return on equity of 1.11% and a negative net margin of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $51.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.93 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Foundation will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Foundation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. First Foundation’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Foundation news, Chairman Ulrich E. Keller, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.16, for a total transaction of $204,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,230,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,041,875.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Foundation

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of First Foundation by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,946 shares of the bank’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in First Foundation by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in First Foundation in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Foundation by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,971 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.10% of the company’s stock.

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.