Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 14,179 First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $973,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $643,570,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in First American Financial by 8.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,690,000 after buying an additional 500,649 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $355,508,000 after buying an additional 5,786,134 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 5.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,636,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,529,000 after acquiring an additional 245,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,415,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $209,868,000 after acquiring an additional 109,242 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $74.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.90. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.20 and a 52-week high of $79.87. The company has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.22.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 9.33%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Steven A. Adams sold 3,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $243,942.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,234 shares in the company, valued at $767,447.66. This trade represents a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FAF shares. Benchmark assumed coverage on First American Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.60.

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.