First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Sets New 1-Year High at $18.26

First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $18.26 and last traded at $18.21, with a volume of 70712 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FA shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $250.00 to $249.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Monday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.25.

First Advantage Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $16.62 and its 200-day moving average is $16.38. The company has a quick ratio of 4.29, a current ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.21. The company had revenue of $184.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.66 million. First Advantage had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Advantage Co. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Advantage

In related news, Director James Lindsey Clark sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.48, for a total value 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 $664,509.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Advantage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FA. Quarry LP grew its position in First Advantage by 49.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the 4th quarter worth about $179,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in First Advantage during the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Advantage in the second quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in First Advantage during the second quarter worth about $234,000. Institutional investors own 94.91% of the company’s stock.

First Advantage Company Profile

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.