First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.60.

FAF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, CAO Steven A. Adams sold 3,253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total transaction of $243,942.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,234 shares in the company, valued at $767,447.66. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $399,632.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FAF. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,696 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in First American Financial by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 7,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Stock Down 1.3%

FAF opened at $78.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.23. First American Financial has a 52 week low of $56.20 and a 52 week high of $79.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.35.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.28. First American Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 9.33%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First American Financial will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.47%.

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.