Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 55,500 Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lowered its position in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 55,500 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.13% of First American Financial worth $8,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 314.7% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total transaction of $200,202.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $12,586,795.36. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF opened at $55.61 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 1.29. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.85 and a one year high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. First American Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 143.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

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.