Wedbush Reaffirms Neutral Rating for First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM)

Wedbush restated their neutral rating on shares of First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $7.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

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

First Foundation Stock Down 0.7 %

FFWM opened at $5.91 on Wednesday. First Foundation has a fifty-two week low of $3.69 and a fifty-two week high of $11.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.51 and its 200 day moving average is $7.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $333.97 million, a P/E ratio of -1.61 and a beta of 1.29.

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

First Foundation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Ulrich E. Keller, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.16, for a total transaction of $204,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,230,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,041,875.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the first quarter worth $3,819,000. rhino investment partners Inc bought a new stake in First Foundation during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,093,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in First Foundation in the third quarter worth about $2,305,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First Foundation in the first quarter worth about $1,731,000. Finally, BHZ Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. BHZ Capital Management LP now owns 742,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,186,000 after buying an additional 187,182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.10% of the company’s stock.

First Foundation Company Profile

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.