First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• First Western Financial was downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a negative outlook on the stock's performance.
• The company reported earnings of $0.26 per share, missing analyst expectations of $0.39, alongside lower than expected revenue of $22.42 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Scott C. Wylie selling 5,000 shares at an average price of $23.59, reducing his ownership stake by 0.66%.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday.

First Western Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MYFW traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.87. The stock had a trading volume of 14,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,487. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.35. First Western Financial has a twelve month low of $17.10 and a twelve month high of $24.88. The firm has a market cap of $222.25 million, a PE ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott C. Wylie sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $117,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 757,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,861,498.76. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 15.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Western Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sippican Capital Advisors boosted its stake in shares of First Western Financial by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 40,070 shares of the company's stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 15,325 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in First Western Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $553,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in First Western Financial by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Western Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 325,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,390,000 after buying an additional 13,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in First Western Financial by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 15,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 4,383 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.