First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $72.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. First American Financial traded as high as $66.05 and last traded at $65.86, with a volume of 262506 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.73.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on FAF. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 4.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,567,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $645,118,000 after purchasing an additional 431,089 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,074,181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $248,237,000 after buying an additional 479,618 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First American Financial by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,647,709 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $196,793,000 after buying an additional 515,710 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,609,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $194,743,000 after buying an additional 97,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,680,947 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $172,760,000 after acquiring an additional 9,491 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.20.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.