First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• First Western Financial has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, following similar ratings from Weiss Ratings and Zacks Research.
• The stock's consensus target price is $24.33, with current trading around $22.25.
• Insider CEO Scott C. Wylie sold 5,000 shares of First Western Financial, but still retains ownership of over 750,000 shares.

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of First Western Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded First Western Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.33.

First Western Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First Western Financial stock opened at $22.25 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $22.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.81. The company has a market capitalization of $216.27 million, a PE ratio of 18.70 and a beta of 0.85. 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 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $24.88.

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 4th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $23.41 million for the quarter. First Western Financial had a return on equity of 4.55% and a net margin of 6.50%. As a group, analysts expect that First Western Financial will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Western Financial

In related news, CEO Scott C. Wylie sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $117,950.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 15.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MYFW. Sippican Capital Advisors lifted its stake in shares of First Western Financial by 61.9% in the first quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 40,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 15,325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Western Financial by 12.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 18,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Western Financial by 2.4% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 158,544 shares of the company's stock worth $3,115,000 after buying an additional 3,666 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank increased its holdings in First Western Financial by 0.4% during the first quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 112,170 shares of the company's stock worth $2,204,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in First Western Financial during the first quarter worth about $553,000. 60.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Western Financial Company Profile

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.

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