Lakewood Capital Management LP Raises Stake in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Lakewood Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 760,604 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,000 shares during the quarter. First American Financial comprises about 3.7% of Lakewood Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Lakewood Capital Management LP’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $48,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in First American Financial by 2,887.5% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 33.0% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, Director Parker S. Kennedy bought 44,841 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $3,042,461.85. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 251,552 shares in the company, valued at $17,067,803.20. This represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First American Financial Price Performance

First American Financial stock opened at $65.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.08. First American Financial Corporation has a one year low of $53.09 and a one year high of $71.47.

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

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FAF. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Stephens raised First American Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.50.

First American Financial 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.