Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 249,237 Shares of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Foundation Inc. (NASDAQ:FFWM) by 21.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,416,963 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 249,237 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.72% of First Foundation worth $8,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFWM. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of First Foundation by 20.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,099,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,063,000 after buying an additional 1,019,484 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Foundation by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 4,090,296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,523,000 after purchasing an additional 332,252 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First Foundation by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 2,898,343 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551,861 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First Foundation by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,877,096 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,294,000 after purchasing an additional 24,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in First Foundation by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,863,369 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,627,000 after purchasing an additional 36,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.10% of the company’s stock.

First Foundation Trading Up 3.8 %

NASDAQ FFWM opened at $6.21 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.27 and a 200 day moving average of $6.72. The company has a market capitalization of $511.49 million, a PE ratio of -5.54 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.87. First Foundation Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.84 and a 1 year high of $11.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Foundation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Stephens lowered First Foundation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.80.

About First Foundation

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.