First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FA. Evercore ISI increased their price target on First Advantage from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. William Blair began coverage on First Advantage in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on First Advantage from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th.

First Advantage Price Performance

First Advantage stock opened at $15.86 on Tuesday. First Advantage has a 1 year low of $12.46 and a 1 year high of $17.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a current ratio of 4.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.14.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17. The business had revenue of $169.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.91 million. First Advantage had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Advantage will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Advantage

In other First Advantage news, Director James Lindsey Clark sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.48, for a total transaction of $32,508.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,509.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph K. Jaeger sold 7,331 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.08, for a total transaction of $117,882.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 688,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,078,589.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James Lindsey Clark sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.48, for a total transaction of $32,508.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,509.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,034 shares of company stock worth $241,439 in the last 90 days. 5.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Advantage

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of First Advantage by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,777,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,711,000 after buying an additional 496,898 shares in the last quarter. Cat Rock Capital Management LP increased its stake in First Advantage by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Cat Rock Capital Management LP now owns 3,325,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,109,000 after buying an additional 303,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,660,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,090,000 after acquiring an additional 255,807 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of First Advantage by 155.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,713,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunriver Management LLC lifted its stake in First Advantage by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 1,151,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,083,000 after acquiring an additional 240,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.91% of the company’s stock.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.