First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• First Western Financial's short interest increased by 33.0% in July, totaling 95,900 shares, which represents approximately 1.3% of the stock sold short.
• The company reported earnings of $0.26 per share, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.39, with revenue of $22.42 million against an expected $25.28 million.
• Analysts have a Moderate Buy rating for First Western Financial, with an average price target of $24.33.

First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 95,900 shares, anincreaseof33.0% from the July 15th total of 72,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 58,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 58,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

First Western Financial Price Performance

MYFW traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $22.92. 26,334 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,017. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. First Western Financial has a one year low of $17.10 and a one year high of $24.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.96.

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $22.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.28 million. First Western Financial had a return on equity of 4.55% and a net margin of 6.50%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Western Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Western Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of First Western Financial by 244.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of First Western Financial by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 5,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Western Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Western Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of First Western Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $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

Several research firms recently weighed in on MYFW. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of First Western Financial from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Western Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Western Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of First Western Financial from $21.50 to $22.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Western Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.33.

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.