First Foundation Inc. $FFWM Shares Purchased by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

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 raised its stake in shares of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,603,952 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 159,570 shares during the period. 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 have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFWM. Fortress Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Foundation by 21.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Foundation by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,368,965 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,711,000 after purchasing an additional 379,288 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Foundation by 8.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,141,752 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,496,000 after purchasing an additional 316,949 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in First Foundation during the first quarter worth $1,166,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 175,300 shares in the last quarter. 73.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Foundation Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FFWM traded down $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $5.89. 480,912 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 726,325. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.84 million, a PE ratio of -4.39 and a beta of 1.00. First Foundation Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.41 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $5.31 and a 200 day moving average of $5.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on FFWM shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of First Foundation from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $7.00 target price on First Foundation and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded First Foundation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Foundation currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.25.

About First Foundation

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.