Stephenson & Company Inc. Acquires New Shares in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

Stephenson & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First American Financial during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 645.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 132.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Up 1.5%

FAF opened at $60.52 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.92. First American Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $70.92. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 1.24.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 119.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

First American Financial Profile

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.