D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Trims Stake in First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM - Free Report) by 48.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 271,336 shares of the bank's stock after selling 249,974 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.33% of First Foundation worth $1,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Foundation in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Foundation by 665.3% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,089 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 4,424 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in First Foundation in the 4th quarter worth $91,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of First Foundation during the 4th quarter valued at about $116,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Foundation during the 4th quarter valued at about $123,000. Institutional investors own 73.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 target price on First Foundation and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded First Foundation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First Foundation from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.80.

First Foundation Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFWM traded up $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 495,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,263. The stock has a market capitalization of $443.65 million, a PE ratio of -4.02 and a beta of 1.01. First Foundation Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.42 and a 12 month high of $8.52. 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 firm's 50 day simple moving average is $5.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.79.

First Foundation 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.