First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.67.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $67.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.78. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $68.75.

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

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

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

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First American Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,850 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 7,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Company 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.