Zacks Research Upgrades First Advantage (NYSE:FA) to Strong-Buy

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $18.00 target price on First Advantage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of First Advantage from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded First Advantage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on First Advantage from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of First Advantage from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.33.

First Advantage Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE FA opened at $20.95 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.62 and its 200 day moving average is $15.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 698.33 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a current ratio of 3.85. First Advantage has a 52 week low of $8.82 and a 52 week high of $25.15.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 0.65%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. First Advantage has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.23-1.290 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Advantage will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Lindsey Clark sold 4,921 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.69, for a total transaction of $77,210.49. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 56,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $891,882.36. This represents a 7.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Advantage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in First Advantage during the 2nd quarter valued at $217,748,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in First Advantage by 724.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,256,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,311,000 after buying an additional 4,618,946 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new position in First Advantage in the second quarter worth approximately $63,214,000. Palisade Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of First Advantage during the 2nd quarter worth $14,533,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,098,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,204,000 after purchasing an additional 780,200 shares in the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Advantage Company Profile

First Advantage is a global provider of background screening, identity verification and workforce risk management solutions. The company delivers a comprehensive suite of services that help employers verify candidate credentials, manage regulatory compliance and mitigate risk throughout the employee lifecycle. Its platform is built to integrate with leading human capital management and applicant tracking systems, enabling a seamless and scalable experience for organizations of all sizes.

The company’s core offerings include pre-employment and continuous background screening, digital identity verification, drug and health testing, and ongoing employee monitoring.