Short Interest Update for First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW)

First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW) experienced a notable decrease in short interest during December. As of December 15th, the total short interest was recorded at 42,900 shares, which reflects a significant decline of 35.1% from the 66,100 shares reported by November 30th. This suggests that investor sentiment towards the stock may be improving, as about 0.6% of its total stock is now sold short. Based on the average trading volume of 26,600 shares, the current days-to-cover ratio stands at 1.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, there has been some insider trading activity. On October 30th, Director David R. Duncan sold 8,600 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of $19.03, amounting to a total of $163,658. Following this transaction, Duncan possesses 8,760 shares valued at approximately $166,702.80, indicating a substantial reduction of 49.54% in his position. This transaction has been officially disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and additional details may be accessed through their website. Currently, insiders hold around 17.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Fund Activity

Recently, several institutional investors have made adjustments to their stakes in First Western Financial. Notably, FMR LLC increased its investment by a whopping 347.2% in the third quarter, now owning 3,117 shares valued at $62,000 after acquiring an extra 2,420 shares during this period. Meanwhile, ELCO Management Co. LLC entered a new position worth $194,000, and HSBC Holdings PLC also acquired shares valued at approximately $210,000 in the second quarter. Additionally, Sippican Capital Advisors and JPMorgan Chase & Co. expanded their holdings significantly, with JPMorgan increasing its stake by 284.0%. Overall, institutional and hedge fund investors hold about 60.26% of the company's shares.

Analysts Update Price Targets

Several analysts have recently updated their price targets for MYFW shares. Piper Sandler raised its target price from $22.00 to $23.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating in a report published on December 10th. Similarly, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target from $23.00 to $25.00 and assigned an "outperform" rating on December 4th.

First Western Financial Price Movement

During midday trading on Friday, shares of MYFW saw a decline of $0.60, dropping to $19.03. A total of 13,163 shares were traded, compared to the average trading volume of 25,095. The company’s market capitalization is approximately $183.91 million, with a PE ratio of 30.69 and a beta of 0.65. Its financial ratios include a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.07, and a quick ratio of 1.06. The 50-day moving average is $20.52, while the 200-day moving average is $19.12. Over the past year, MYFW has ranged between a low of $12.84 and a high of $22.32.

First Western Financial last released its earnings report on October 24th, announcing earnings per share of $0.22 for the quarter, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.08. Their revenue stood at $45.06 million, significantly surpassing analysts’ expectations of $24.10 million. Furthermore, the company reported a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 2.44%. For the current fiscal year, analysts project that First Western Financial will achieve an EPS of 0.93.

About First Western Financial

First Western Financial, Inc. operates 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. Its operations are divided into two primary segments: Wealth Management and Mortgage, with Wealth Management providing deposit, loan, life insurance, and trust and investment management services.

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