First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded First Western Financial (MYFW) from "hold" to "strong-buy," joining others (Weiss, Piper Sandler) that raised ratings or targets and leaving a consensus "Buy" with a $27.00 average target.
• Quarterly results beat expectations—MYFW reported $0.63 EPS vs. $0.44 expected and $28.27M revenue vs. $27.30M—while the stock trades around $27.74, with a market cap of ~$270M and a P/E of 17.9.
• Insider and institutional activity — Director David R. Duncan sold 8,626 shares, insiders own 15.5% of the stock, and institutional ownership is about 60.3% as several funds added or initiated positions recently.

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on MYFW. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Western Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Western Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.00.

First Western Financial Stock Down 2.4%

MYFW opened at $27.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.00. The company has a market cap of $270.05 million, a PE ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 0.66. First Western Financial has a 1 year low of $20.07 and a 1 year high of $28.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05.

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.19. First Western Financial had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 5.81%. The company had revenue of $28.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.30 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Western Financial will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Western Financial

In related news, Director David R. Duncan sold 8,626 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.56, for a total transaction of $220,480.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 15.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Western Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MYFW. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in First Western Financial by 8.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,763 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Western Financial by 122.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626 shares of the company's stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 22,382 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Western Financial by 3.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 181,708 shares of the company's stock worth $4,100,000 after purchasing an additional 6,431 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in First Western Financial in the second quarter valued at $357,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in First Western Financial in the second quarter valued at $2,194,000. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc NASDAQ: MYFW is a Denver-based bank holding company that, through its principal subsidiary First Western Trust, delivers a suite of personalized financial services. The company's core activities center on wealth management and trust administration for high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions. In addition, First Western Financial offers a comprehensive range of deposit products—such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds and certificates of deposit—designed to meet the liquidity and income needs of its clients.

Complementing its deposit offerings, First Western Financial provides fiduciary and investment management services, including estate planning, charitable giving strategies and multi-generational wealth transfer.

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