First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.22), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FAF traded down $4.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.63. The stock had a trading volume of 672,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 691,136. First American Financial has a 1-year low of $49.55 and a 1-year high of $65.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40 and a beta of 1.28.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is presently 101.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First American Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.00.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Home Warranty segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services internationally.