First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) Shares Down 4.1% – Should You Sell?

First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM)’s stock price traded down 4.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $6.20 and last traded at $6.13. Approximately 50,563 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 348,050 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFWM has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut First Foundation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Stephens lowered First Foundation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.75.

First Foundation Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $513.51 million, a PE ratio of -5.57 and a beta of 1.37.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Foundation

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Foundation by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,099,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,063,000 after buying an additional 1,019,484 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP lifted its stake in First Foundation by 8.8% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 4,090,296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,523,000 after acquiring an additional 332,252 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC grew its position in First Foundation by 115.3% in the third quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 2,898,343 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551,861 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Foundation by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,096 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,294,000 after purchasing an additional 24,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,863,369 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,627,000 after purchasing an additional 36,338 shares in the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.