First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyShares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF – Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.50.
FAF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens upgraded First American Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, December 26th.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on First American Financial
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Parker S. Kennedy bought 44,841 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $3,042,461.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 251,552 shares in the company, valued at $17,067,803.20. This trade represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in First American Financial by 121.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 10.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 293,058 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28,666 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 7.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 414,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,600 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 182.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 67,572 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 43,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 11.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.
First American Financial Trading Down 0.6%
FAF stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.06. 95,831 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,089,059. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.75. First American Financial has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $71.47.
First American Financial (NYSE:FAF – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 11.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First American Financial will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.
First American Financial Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.
About First American Financial
First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.
The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.