First Foundation (NYSE:FFWM) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

First Foundation Inc. (NYSE:FFWM) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,434,902 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 108% from the previous session’s volume of 690,234 shares.The stock last traded at $6.04 and had previously closed at $6.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut First Foundation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. DA Davidson lowered shares of First Foundation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Stephens upgraded First Foundation from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of First Foundation in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Foundation presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

First Foundation Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $503.91 million, a P/E ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.99.

First Foundation (NYSE:FFWM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.06). First Foundation had a negative return on equity of 0.07% and a negative net margin of 26.09%.The company had revenue of $48.36 million during the quarter.

About First Foundation

First Foundation Inc (NYSE: FFWM) is a financial services company headquartered in Irvine, California. Through its banking and advisory subsidiaries, the company delivers a range of wealth management, strategic consulting and lending solutions to high-net-worth individuals, families, entrepreneurs and closely held businesses. First Foundation’s integrated business model combines personalized advisory services with commercial and consumer banking capabilities under one corporate umbrella.

The company’s wealth management arm offers financial planning, investment management, trust and estate planning, tax planning and family office services.