First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $7.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 32.33% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on FFWM. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of First Foundation from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of First Foundation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.80.

First Foundation Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFWM opened at $5.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $435.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.95 and a beta of 1.01. First Foundation has a 52-week low of $4.42 and a 52-week high of $8.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Foundation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its stake in First Foundation by 182.7% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 4,386,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,835,000 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP lifted its stake in First Foundation by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 4,153,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,796,000 after purchasing an additional 63,621 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,141,752 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,496,000 after purchasing an additional 316,949 shares during the last quarter. Fortress Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of First Foundation by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortress Investment Group LLC now owns 4,038,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,081,000 after purchasing an additional 714,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Foundation by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,368,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,711,000 after purchasing an additional 379,288 shares in 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.