Wedbush Cuts First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) Price Target to $5.00

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) had its target price trimmed by Wedbush from $6.00 to $5.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the bank’s stock.

FFWM has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded First Foundation from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of First Foundation from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens lowered shares of First Foundation from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of First Foundation from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Foundation presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $8.00.

First Foundation Price Performance

FFWM stock opened at $5.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.82 and a 200-day moving average of $7.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $282.83 million, a P/E ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 1.34. First Foundation has a 12 month low of $3.69 and a 12 month high of $11.47.

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $51.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.93 million. First Foundation had a negative net margin of 32.44% and a positive return on equity of 1.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Foundation will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Foundation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. First Foundation’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Foundation

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of First Foundation during the 1st quarter valued at $3,819,000. rhino investment partners Inc purchased a new stake in First Foundation during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,093,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Foundation during the first quarter valued at about $1,731,000. BHZ Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. BHZ Capital Management LP now owns 742,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,186,000 after buying an additional 187,182 shares during the period. Finally, Verdad Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of First Foundation by 175.0% in the 4th quarter. Verdad Advisers LP now owns 165,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after acquiring an additional 105,000 shares during the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.