First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Position Boosted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,294,063 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,718 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Advantage were worth $25,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FA. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,600,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,716 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Advantage by 8.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,131,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,314,000 after buying an additional 254,219 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 6.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,253,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,874,000 after buying an additional 72,400 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of First Advantage by 2.1% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,183,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,484,000 after acquiring an additional 24,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 26.7% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,017,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,192,000 after acquiring an additional 214,134 shares during the period. 94.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on FA. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on First Advantage from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded First Advantage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.29.

First Advantage Stock Performance

Shares of FA stock opened at $18.65 on Friday. First Advantage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.01 and a fifty-two week high of $20.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 3.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 621.67 and a beta of 1.17.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $199.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.39 million. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 0.65%. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. Analysts predict that First Advantage Co. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Advantage 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.