EJF Capital LLC Grows Stock Position in First Foundation Inc. $FFWM

Key Points

• EJF Capital LLC increased its holdings in First Foundation Inc. by 53.3%, owning approximately $1.38 million worth of shares by the end of the 1st quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 73.10% of First Foundation's stock, with other notable firms like Fortress Investment Group and Vanguard also increasing their holdings.
• Recent analyst reports have led to a downgrade of First Foundation's stock rating from "hold" to "sell," with a consensus target price of $6.25.

EJF Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM - Free Report) by 53.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 265,378 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 92,212 shares during the quarter. EJF Capital LLC owned 0.32% of First Foundation worth $1,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in First Foundation in the fourth quarter valued at about $489,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 worth $14,711,000 after acquiring an additional 379,288 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of First Foundation by 13.7% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,452,919 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,541,000 after acquiring an additional 175,300 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of First Foundation by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 35,393 shares of the bank's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 9,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortress Investment Group LLC grew its stake 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 worth $25,081,000 after acquiring an additional 714,000 shares during the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFWM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered First Foundation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 price target on First Foundation and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on First Foundation from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Foundation has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.25.

First Foundation Stock Performance

FFWM stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,037,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,901. The stock has a market cap of $502.14 million, a PE ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.18. First Foundation Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.41 and a 52-week high of $8.52.

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.