Oak Thistle LLC Increases Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Oak Thistle LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 42.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,523 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 210,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,538,000 after buying an additional 20,188 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,430,000 after buying an additional 224,277 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,976,000 after buying an additional 36,485 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $275,816,000 after buying an additional 168,706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,215,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAF has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, December 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Stephens raised First American Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.00.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, Director Parker S. Kennedy purchased 44,841 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $3,042,461.85. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 251,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. The trade was a 21.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First American Financial Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $63.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.28. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $71.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.28.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 8.34%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.