First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM) Stake Raised by North Reef Capital Management LP

North Reef Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM - Free Report) by 182.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,386,861 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 2,835,000 shares during the quarter. First Foundation comprises approximately 1.2% of North Reef Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. North Reef Capital Management LP owned 5.33% of First Foundation worth $27,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Foundation by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,824,803 shares of the bank's stock worth $23,752,000 after purchasing an additional 774,844 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of First Foundation by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,277,619 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,934,000 after purchasing an additional 417,849 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Foundation by 283.5% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 564,167 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 417,044 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of First Foundation in the fourth quarter worth $2,462,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First Foundation by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,368,965 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,711,000 after purchasing an additional 379,288 shares in the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FFWM. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on First Foundation from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut First Foundation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.75.

First Foundation Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFWM traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $4.85. 718,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 628,765. First Foundation Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.42 and a 1 year high of $8.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.62 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.10.

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.