First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.50.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FAF. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First American Financial from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $68.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.72 and a 200 day moving average of $61.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.32 and a beta of 1.30. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $51.60 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.19. First American Financial had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 1.58%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 242.70%.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 16.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,647,709 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $196,793,000 after purchasing an additional 515,710 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in First American Financial by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,609,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $194,743,000 after purchasing an additional 97,158 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,495,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $164,746,000 after buying an additional 405,146 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,700,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $112,306,000 after buying an additional 12,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 4.6% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,493,111 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,560,000 after buying an additional 66,290 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

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.