First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,770,000 shares, an increase of 48.7% from the February 29th total of 1,190,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 765,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, TheStreet downgraded First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its holdings in First American Financial by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 8,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group purchased a new position in First American Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $268,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in First American Financial by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 46,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in First American Financial by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 42,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in First American Financial by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 242,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,617,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of FAF traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.05. The company had a trading volume of 601,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,377. The firm has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $58.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.24. First American Financial has a 52-week low of $49.55 and a 52-week high of $65.54.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.06). First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 3.61%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that First American Financial will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.92%.

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.