First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• First Western Financial has a consensus “Hold” rating from five analysts: one sell, two hold, and two buy ratings. The average 12-month price target is $32.33, modestly above the reported share price of $30.31.
• The company’s latest quarterly earnings came in slightly ahead of expectations, with EPS of $0.57 versus the $0.56 consensus estimate, while revenue of $28.14 million fell short of the $28.57 million forecast.
• Institutional investors own 60.26% of the stock, with Wellington Management increasing its stake by 43.6%; separately, CEO Scott Wylie sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $30.55.

First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.3333.

MYFW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Western Financial in a report on Friday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Western Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Western Financial from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of First Western Financial from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Western Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

First Western Financial Price Performance

Shares of First Western Financial stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.31. 7,120 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,679. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.15. The stock has a market cap of $295.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.71. First Western Financial has a 12 month low of $21.95 and a 12 month high of $34.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02.

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. First Western Financial had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $28.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.57 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Western Financial will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott C. Wylie sold 10,000 shares of First Western Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.55, for a total transaction of $305,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 740,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,616,531.60. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 13.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of First Western Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MYFW. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in First Western Financial by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 747,096 shares of the company's stock worth $23,989,000 after buying an additional 226,767 shares during the period. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of First Western Financial by 4.5% in the first quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 716,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,614,000 after buying an additional 30,655 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Western Financial in the second quarter valued at about $17,426,000. Algebris UK Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Western Financial by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 340,807 shares of the company's stock worth $9,141,000 after acquiring an additional 25,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First Western Financial by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 261,734 shares of the company's stock worth $6,434,000 after acquiring an additional 6,440 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Western Financial Company Profile

First Western Financial, Inc is a Denver-based financial services company and the parent organization of First Western Trust Bank. The company focuses on providing integrated private banking, wealth management, and trust services to high-net-worth individuals, families, entrepreneurs, professionals, and privately held businesses.

Its private banking activities include deposit accounts, lending, and other banking solutions tailored to clients' financial needs. Through its wealth management and trust businesses, First Western provides investment management, financial planning, fiduciary services, estate and tax planning support, and related services designed to help clients manage and preserve wealth across generations.

First Western was founded in 2004 and serves clients through offices in the western United States, with a presence concentrated in Colorado and additional markets in the region.

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