Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 32.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,436 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in First American Financial by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,567,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $645,118,000 after buying an additional 431,089 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in First American Financial by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,074,181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,237,000 after buying an additional 479,618 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 valued at $196,793,000 after buying an additional 515,710 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised 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 valued at $194,743,000 after buying an additional 97,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in First American Financial by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,426,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,977,000 after buying an additional 86,330 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on First American Financial from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens upped their price objective on First American Financial from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on First American Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.50.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $63.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.79 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.47. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $51.60 and a one year high of $67.88.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 1.58% and a return on equity of 7.95%. First American Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 242.70%.

First American Financial Profile

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.