Wedbush Weighs in on First Foundation Inc.’s Q1 2025 Earnings (NASDAQ:FFWM)

First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM) – Equities research analysts at Wedbush dropped their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of First Foundation in a report issued on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wedbush analyst D. Chiaverini now forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $0.04 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.08. Wedbush currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for First Foundation’s current full-year earnings is $0.03 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for First Foundation’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.07 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $0.09 EPS.

First Foundation (NASDAQ:FFWM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $51.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.93 million. First Foundation had a negative net margin of 32.44% and a positive return on equity of 1.11%.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on FFWM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Foundation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of First Foundation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of First Foundation in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Raymond James cut shares of First Foundation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Stephens cut shares of First Foundation from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Foundation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.00.

First Foundation Stock Performance

Shares of FFWM stock opened at $5.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $291.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.36. First Foundation has a 52 week low of $3.69 and a 52 week high of $11.47.

First Foundation Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. First Foundation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Foundation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FFWM. Azora Capital LP grew its holdings in First Foundation by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 3,033,696 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,366,000 after acquiring an additional 90,840 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Foundation by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,859,870 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,592,000 after acquiring an additional 31,026 shares during the last quarter. BHZ Capital Management LP grew its holdings in First Foundation by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. BHZ Capital Management LP now owns 742,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,186,000 after acquiring an additional 187,182 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in First Foundation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,819,000. Finally, rhino investment partners Inc bought a new stake in First Foundation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,093,000. 73.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Foundation Company Profile

First Foundation Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides banking services, investment advisory, wealth management, and trust services to individuals, businesses, and other organizations in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Wealth Management. It offers a range of deposit products, including personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing demand deposit 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, 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.