Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc Takes Position in First Advantage Co. $FA

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc purchased a new position in First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 34,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in First Advantage in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Advantage by 192.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of First Advantage during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Advantage Price Performance

NYSE FA opened at $20.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 696.67 and a beta of 1.16. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.21. First Advantage Co. has a 1 year low of $8.82 and a 1 year high of $25.15.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%.The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. First Advantage has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.23-1.290 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Advantage Co. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of First Advantage from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. 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 report on Thursday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $18.00 target price on First Advantage in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded First Advantage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on First Advantage from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.33.

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.