Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Has $8.33 Million Stock Position in First Foundation Inc. $FFWM

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Foundation Inc., acquiring an additional 159,570 shares, amounting to an ownership of approximately 1.95% of the company.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on First Foundation, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from "hold" to "sell," while Jefferies Financial Group set a "buy" rating with a price target of $7.00.
• The stock of First Foundation Inc. has fluctuated between a fifty-two week low of $4.41 and a high of $8.52, currently trading at around $5.83.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,603,952 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 159,570 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.95% of First Foundation worth $8,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FFWM. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 2,387 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in First Foundation in the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Foundation by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,915 shares of the bank's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.10% of the company's stock.

First Foundation Stock Performance

FFWM stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.97. 637,540 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 725,742. 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 has a market capitalization of $491.84 million, a P/E ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.15. First Foundation Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.41 and a 12 month high of $8.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FFWM. Wall Street Zen cut 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 company 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.25.

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.