First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.50.

First American Financial Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $67.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $64.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.09. First American Financial has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $71.47.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.50. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 8.34%.The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 shares were acquired at an average price of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $3,042,461.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 251,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. This trade represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 210,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,538,000 after buying an additional 20,188 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,430,000 after acquiring an additional 224,277 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in First American Financial by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,976,000 after acquiring an additional 36,485 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP raised its stake in First American Financial by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 10,880 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter valued at about $1,215,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about First American Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting First American Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multi?year profit forecasts — notably lifting FY2026 to $6.25, FY2027 to $6.68 and FY2028 to $7.30 and upping several quarterly estimates (including Q4 2026 and Q4 2027). These upward revisions suggest analysts expect stronger earnings power over the next few years, which is supportive for valuation and dividend/earnings expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Independent upgrade — Wall Street Zen upgraded FAF to a “Buy”, which can attract some buy?side interest and retail attention. Wall Street Zen Upgrades First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) to “Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks made small upward tweaks to near?term quarters (Q1 2026 moved to $1.03; Q3 2027 to $1.82) — incremental changes that modestly improve the near?term outlook but are not game?changing by themselves.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed a couple of short?term forecasts — Q1 2027 was lowered to $1.13 (from $1.18) and Q2 2026 saw a minor cut — indicating some near?quarter timing uncertainty that could pressure sentiment if near?term results miss expectations.

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.