First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $82.50.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAF shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF opened at $65.69 on Wednesday. First American Financial has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $71.47. The company has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.70.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The business’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.79%.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $468,011.70. Following the sale, the director owned 24,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,854.16. This trade represents a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $355,508,000 after buying an additional 5,786,134 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 194.5% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $212,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183,960 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,011,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the first quarter valued at $71,680,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 469.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,949 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Company Profile

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.