First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MYFW. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Western Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Western Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Western Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.33.

First Western Financial Stock Performance

Shares of MYFW stock opened at $25.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $249.74 million, a PE ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.98. First Western Financial has a 52 week low of $17.52 and a 52 week high of $28.00.

First Western Financial (NASDAQ:MYFW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.13). First Western Financial had a net margin of 7.08% and a return on equity of 5.09%. The company had revenue of $26.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Western Financial will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott C. Wylie sold 16,171 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.72, for a total transaction of $415,918.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 756,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,456,717.04. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David R. Duncan sold 8,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.56, for a total transaction of $220,480.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,964 shares of company stock worth $938,485. 17.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of First Western Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 685,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,390,000 after purchasing an additional 68,130 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. grew its stake in First Western Financial by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 340,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,141,000 after purchasing an additional 25,358 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its holdings in First Western Financial by 9.1% in the second quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 280,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,329,000 after buying an additional 23,317 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in First Western Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 255,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,844,000 after buying an additional 5,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tieton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Western Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 183,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,923,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc (NASDAQ: MYFW) is a Denver-based bank holding company that, through its principal subsidiary First Western Trust, delivers a suite of personalized financial services. The company’s core activities center on wealth management and trust administration for high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions. In addition, First Western Financial offers a comprehensive range of deposit products—such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds and certificates of deposit—designed to meet the liquidity and income needs of its clients.

Complementing its deposit offerings, First Western Financial provides fiduciary and investment management services, including estate planning, charitable giving strategies and multi-generational wealth transfer.