How to buy First Foundation stock | $18.96

First Foundation Inc is a banks-regional business based in the US. First Foundation shares (FFWM) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. First Foundation employs 424 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$234.6 million.

How to buy shares in First Foundation

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for First Foundation. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: FFWM. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until First Foundation reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$18.96, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of First Foundation, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of First Foundation. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

First Foundation share price

Use our graph to track the performance of FFWM stocks over time.

First Foundation shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-12-27.

Latest market close	USD$18.96
52-week range	USD$7.901 - USD$20.41
50-day moving average	USD$18.5912
200-day moving average	USD$15.9397
Wall St. target price	USD$21.4
PE ratio	11.6105
Dividend yield	USD$0.28 (1.4%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$1.72

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Is it a good time to buy First Foundation stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of First Foundation Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

First Foundation price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $18.96 from 2020-12-09

1 week (2021-01-11)	-11.07%
1 month (2020-12-18)	-5.01%
3 months (2020-10-16)	27.59%
6 months (2020-07-17)	22.56%

1 year (2020-01-17)	12.12%
2 years (2019-01-18)	28.80%
3 years (2018-01-18)	18.98
5 years (2016-01-15)	21.9

Is First Foundation under- or over-valued?

Valuing First Foundation stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of First Foundation's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

First Foundation's P/E ratio

First Foundation's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 12x. In other words, First Foundation shares trade at around 12x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

First Foundation's PEG ratio

First Foundation's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.8. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into First Foundation's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

First Foundation financials

Revenue TTM	USD$234.6 million
Operating margin TTM	46.06%
Gross profit TTM	USD$209.1 million
Return on assets TTM	1.2%
Return on equity TTM	12.04%
Profit margin	32.91%
Book value	$15.191
Market capitalisation	USD$891.2 million

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting First Foundation shares

There are currently 562,687 First Foundation shares held short by investors – that's known as First Foundation's "short interest". This figure is 8.4% down from 614,437 last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting First Foundation shares can be evaluated.

First Foundation's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

First Foundation's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of First Foundation shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of First Foundation shares traded daily (recently around 165496.17647059). First Foundation's SIR currently stands at 3.4. In other words for every 100,000 First Foundation shares traded daily on the market, roughly 3400 shares are currently held short.

However First Foundation's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of First Foundation shares, or, against the total number of tradable First Foundation shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case First Foundation's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 First Foundation shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0144% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable First Foundation shares, roughly 14 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against First Foundation.

Find out more about how you can short First Foundation stock.

First Foundation share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 16.28% of net profits

Recently First Foundation has paid out, on average, around 16.28% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 1.4% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), First Foundation shareholders could enjoy a 1.4% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In First Foundation's case, that would currently equate to about $0.28 per share.

While First Foundation's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that First Foundation is investing more in its future growth.

First Foundation's most recent dividend payout was on 17 November 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 6 November 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Have First Foundation's shares ever split?

First Foundation's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 19 January 2017. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your First Foundation shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for First Foundation shares which in turn could have impacted First Foundation's share price.

First Foundation share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, First Foundation's shares have ranged in value from as little as $7.901 up to $20.41. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while First Foundation's is 1.5144. This would suggest that First Foundation's shares are more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

First Foundation overview

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. It also provides various specialized services comprising trust services, internet and mobile banking, remote deposit capture services, merchant credit card services, ATM cards, Visa debit cards, and business sweep accounts, as well as insurance brokerage services and equipment financing solutions. In addition, the company offers investment management and financial planning services; treasury management services; advisory and coordination services in the areas of estate planning, retirement planning, and charitable and business ownership issues; and financial, investment, and economic advisory and related services. Further, it provides support services, including the processing and transmission of financial and economic data for charitable organizations. The company operates through a network of 20 branch offices and 2 loan production offices in California, Nevada, and Hawaii. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of First Foundation is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 12.707% of First Foundation shares are held by insiders and 62.488% by institutions.

• How many people work for First Foundation?

  Latest data suggests 424 work at First Foundation.

• When does the fiscal year end for First Foundation?

  First Foundation's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is First Foundation based?

  First Foundation's address is: 18101 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, CA, United States, 92612

• What is First Foundation's ISIN number?

  First Foundation's international securities identification number is: US32026V1044

• What is First Foundation's CUSIP number?

  First Foundation's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 32026V104