Wellington Management Group LLP Lowers Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 22.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,524,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 435,594 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $104,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAF. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $1,608,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth $6,713,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in First American Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $63,693,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in First American Financial during the first quarter valued at $71,680,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 79,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after acquiring an additional 35,650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:FAF opened at $73.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.21. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.20 and a twelve month high of $79.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.08.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.60.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

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

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.