First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW) Sees Significant Short Interest Drop

First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW) experienced a notable reduction in short interest during December. As of December 15th, short interest totaled 42,900 shares, marking a 35.1% decline from 66,100 shares reported on November 30th. Currently, approximately 0.6% of the company's stock is engaged in short selling. With an average daily trading volume of 26,600 shares, the short-interest ratio stands at 1.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, on October 30th, Director David R. Duncan sold 8,600 shares of First Western Financial shares at an average price of $19.03, which amounts to a total of $163,658. Following this transaction, Duncan holds 8,760 shares valued at around $166,702.80. This sale reflects a 49.54% decrease in his position. The transaction has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is available for public access. Moreover, company insiders retain approximately 17.90% of the firm’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Western Financial

Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their holdings in First Western Financial stock. Notably, FMR LLC increased its stake by a significant 347.2% in the third quarter, owning 3,117 shares worth $62,000, after purchasing an additional 2,420 shares during that period. ELCO Management Co. LLC established a new position valued at $194,000 in the second quarter. Likewise, HSBC Holdings PLC also entered a new position during the same time frame, acquiring shares worth about $210,000. Sippican Capital Advisors added a stake of approximately $272,000 in the third quarter. Additionally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings by 284.0% during the third quarter, owning 13,674 shares valued at $273,000 after acquiring 10,113 shares. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own about 60.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Recent reports from several equity analysts have revised their price targets on MYFW shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price from $22.00 to $23.00 and maintained a "neutral" rating on December 10th. Meanwhile, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target for First Western Financial from $23.00 to $25.00, giving the stock an "outperform" rating in a report published on December 4th.

First Western Financial Price Performance

On Friday, shares of MYFW dropped by $0.60 during midday trading to reach $19.03, with 13,163 shares changing hands, compared to an average volume of 25,095. The company boasts a market cap of $183.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, and a beta of 0.65. It has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.07. The 50-day simple moving average stands at $20.52, while the 200-day average is $19.12. Over the past year, First Western Financial shares have hit a low of $12.84 and a high of $22.32.

First Western Financial reported its earnings results most recently on October 24th, posting earnings per share of $0.22 for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.08. The firm recorded revenue of $45.06 million, significantly higher than analyst expectations of $24.10 million. The company's net margin was 3.33%, with a return on equity of 2.44%. In the same period last year, the earnings per share was $0.32. Analysts project that First Western Financial will achieve 0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc. serves as a financial holding company that offers a range of services, including wealth advisory, private banking, personal trust, investment management, mortgage lending, and institutional asset management. The company operates through two main segments: Wealth Management and Mortgage. The Wealth Management segment delivers various products and services like deposit accounts, loans, life insurance, and investment management advisory.

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