Cortland Associates Inc. MO Purchases 8,806 Shares of First Advantage Co. $FA

Cortland Associates Inc. MO increased its position in shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,327,850 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,806 shares during the quarter. First Advantage comprises 2.6% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO owned 0.76% of First Advantage worth $22,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of First Advantage by 200.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,409,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940,155 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in First Advantage by 139.4% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,168,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,787 shares in the last quarter. Sunriver Management LLC increased its stake in First Advantage by 49.2% during the 1st quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 3,420,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128,272 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in First Advantage during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,774,000. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP increased its stake in First Advantage by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,562,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,020,000 after purchasing an additional 293,044 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.91% of the company’s stock.

First Advantage Stock Down 4.3%

FA stock opened at $15.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.19. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 502.00 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 3.85. First Advantage Co. has a 12 month low of $12.32 and a 12 month high of $20.79.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. First Advantage’s revenue was up 111.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. First Advantage has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.860-1.030 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 at First Advantage

In other news, President Joelle M. Smith sold 9,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total value of $155,430.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 42,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $670,813.90. This represents a 18.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FA shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Advantage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

First Advantage Profile

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.