First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Rating Increased to Overweight at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Stephens currently has $81.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $70.00.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on FAF. Truist Financial upped their target price on First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, December 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.50.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $70.28 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.96. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $71.47. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.27.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 8.34%.First American Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First American Financial news, Director Parker S. Kennedy acquired 44,841 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $3,042,461.85. Following the acquisition, the director owned 251,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. The trade was a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 2,887.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 1,107.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

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.