Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Makes New $523,000 Investment in First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in shares of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 36,495 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of First Foundation as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FFWM. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Foundation by 8.2% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in First Foundation by 87.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 138,554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,366,000 after buying an additional 64,820 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in First Foundation by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 58,474 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in First Foundation by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 261,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,352,000 after buying an additional 33,771 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in First Foundation by 161.8% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 17,382 shares of the bank’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 10,743 shares in the last quarter. 69.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FFWM. Piper Sandler lowered First Foundation from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $17.50 to $16.00 in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Raymond James decreased their price objective on First Foundation from $18.00 to $9.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of First Foundation from $10.00 to $8.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of First Foundation in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Foundation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.90.

First Foundation Price Performance

FFWM opened at $4.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.38 million, a PE ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.51. First Foundation Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.76 and a 1 year high of $22.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The bank reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $70.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.17 million. First Foundation had a return on equity of 8.07% and a net margin of 17.42%. Research analysts anticipate that First Foundation Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Foundation Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 8th were given a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. First Foundation’s payout ratio is 5.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Foundation news, Director Max Briggs purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $4.69 per share, with a total value of $46,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 46,072 shares in the company, valued at $216,077.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other First Foundation news, CFO Amy Djou sold 3,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $48,055.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,044.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Max Briggs acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.69 per share, with a total value of $46,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 46,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,077.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 19,765 shares of company stock worth $101,315 and have sold 133,029 shares worth $1,120,830. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Foundation Company Profile

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First Foundation, Inc is a bank holding, which engages in the provision of a comprehensive platform of financial services to individuals, businesses, and organizations. It operates through the following segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Other. The company was founded by John Avak Hakopian and Ulrich Emanuel Keller, Jr.