First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Short Interest Update

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) saw a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,231,362 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the January 15th total of 2,653,192 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,211,772 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,211,772 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $67.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.15 and a 200-day moving average of $63.64. The company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial has a one year low of $53.09 and a one year high of $68.75.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released 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. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that First American Financial will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens began coverage on First American Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.67.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew its holdings in First American Financial by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,690,000 after acquiring an additional 500,649 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $355,508,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786,134 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First American Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,391,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $269,799,000 after buying an additional 97,612 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in First American Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,415,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $209,868,000 after acquiring an additional 109,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,793,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $110,200,000 after purchasing an additional 19,752 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Company Profile

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.