First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) Rating Increased to Buy at DA Davidson

DA Davidson upgraded shares of First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $9.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $8.00. DA Davidson also issued estimates for First Foundation’s Q2 2024 earnings at $0.00 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $0.13 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on FFWM. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of First Foundation in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Foundation from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $8.00.

First Foundation Trading Down 23.8 %

NASDAQ FFWM opened at $5.01 on Wednesday. First Foundation has a 52 week low of $3.69 and a 52 week high of $11.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $5.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.46. 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 $282.83 million, a PE ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 1.34.

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 business had revenue of $51.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.93 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Foundation will post 0.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Foundation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. 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 0.80%. First Foundation’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in First Foundation in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the 1st quarter valued at $123,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the 4th quarter valued at $126,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the first quarter worth $128,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,946 shares of the bank’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.