First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM) Receives $7.80 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.80.

Several brokerages have recently commented on FFWM. Raymond James cut First Foundation from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wedbush lowered their target price on First Foundation from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens downgraded First Foundation from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Foundation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of First Foundation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Foundation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFWM. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in First Foundation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,819,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its position in First Foundation by 144.3% in the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 646,691 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 381,946 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Foundation during the second quarter worth $1,870,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Foundation during the first quarter worth $1,731,000. Finally, BHZ Capital Management LP increased its holdings in First Foundation by 33.7% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 73.10% of the company's stock.

First Foundation Price Performance

FFWM stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.19. 693,716 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 612,889. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.31. First Foundation has a one year low of $4.41 and a one year high of $11.47. The company has a market cap of $487.84 million, a P/E ratio of 47.67 and a beta of 1.32.

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.05. First Foundation had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 1.07%. The firm had revenue of $164.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that First Foundation will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

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.