First Western Financial, Inc. $MYFW Shares Sold by Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in First Western Financial by 40.8%, holding 210,475 shares valued at approximately $4.14 million after selling 145,000 shares in the first quarter.
• In contrast, Wells Fargo and Barclays increased their stakes in First Western Financial by 23.2% and 24.0%, respectively, during the fourth quarter.
• First Western Financial's stock was downgraded from "hold" to "sell" by Wall Street Zen, with the current average rating being "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $24.33.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW - Free Report) by 40.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 210,475 shares of the company's stock after selling 145,000 shares during the quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.17% of First Western Financial worth $4,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MYFW. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of First Western Financial by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of First Western Financial by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 4,225 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Western Financial by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 192,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,767,000 after acquiring an additional 14,435 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in First Western Financial by 244.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,259 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in First Western Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,619 shares of the company's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Western Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.33.

First Western Financial Stock Down 0.5%

MYFW opened at $22.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.09. The company has a market cap of $221.47 million, a PE ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.87. First Western Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.10 and a 1 year high of $24.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11.

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $22.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.28 million. First Western Financial had a return on equity of 4.55% and a net margin of 6.50%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Western Financial, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, provides wealth advisory, private baking, personal trust, investment management, mortgage lending, and institutional asset management services. The company operates through two segments: Wealth Management and Mortgage. The Wealth Management segment provides deposit, loan, life insurance, and trust and investment management advisory products and services.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MYFW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.