Brokerages expect First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM) to report earnings of $0.46 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Four analysts have provided estimates for First Foundation's earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $0.42 and the highest is $0.49. First Foundation posted earnings of $0.29 per share in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 58.6%. The firm is expected to issue its next quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 28th.
On average, analysts expect that First Foundation will report full year earnings of $2.03 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $1.95 to $2.10. For the next year, analysts expect that the company will report earnings of $2.10 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.00 to $2.30. Zacks Investment Research's EPS calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that cover First Foundation.
First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $63.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.69 million. First Foundation had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 25.59%.
FFWM has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James upped their target price on First Foundation from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 27th. B. Riley upped their target price on First Foundation from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.40.
Shares of First Foundation stock traded down $0.79 on Monday, hitting $23.46. The stock had a trading volume of 113,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,481. First Foundation has a twelve month low of $8.01 and a twelve month high of $25.59. The business's 50 day moving average is $22.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 1.54.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 4th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. This is an increase from First Foundation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. First Foundation's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.80%.
In related news, insider John Hakopian sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.43, for a total transaction of $468,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 53,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,257,862.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Ulrich E. Keller, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total value of $580,750.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 20,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $480,559.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,000 shares of company stock worth $1,552,250 in the last three months. 13.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 531.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 8,929 shares of the bank's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 7,515 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the 4th quarter valued at $179,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,941 shares of the bank's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Foundation in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. 61.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
First Foundation Company Profile
First Foundation Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the United States. It operates in two segments, Banking, and Investment Management and Wealth Planning. The company offers a range of bank deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal 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, and 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.
Featured Story: What is a front-end load?
Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on First Foundation (FFWM)
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]
20 Stocks to Sell Now
Most people know that brokerage rankings are overstated because of pressure from publicly-traded companies. No investor relations person wants to see "hold" and "sell" ratings issued for their stock. In reality, a "buy" rating really means "hold." "Hold" ratings really mean "sell" and "sell" ratings mean get out while you still can.
If Wall Street's top analysts are consistently giving "hold" and "sell" ratings to stock, you know there's a serious problem. We've compiled a list of the companies that Wall Street's top equities research analysts are consistently giving "hold" and "sell" ratings to. If you own one of these stocks, consider getting out while there's still time.
This slide show lists the 20 companies that have the lowest average analyst recommendations from Wall Street's equities research analysts over the last 12 months.
View the "20 Stocks to Sell Now".
