First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

Several research analysts have commented on FA shares. Zacks Research lowered First Advantage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on First Advantage from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on First Advantage from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Advantage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FA. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Advantage by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 17,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in First Advantage by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 540,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,417,000 after acquiring an additional 269,247 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new position in First Advantage in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,507,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Advantage by 12.8% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 32,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 3,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of First Advantage by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.91% of the company’s stock.

First Advantage Stock Performance

Shares of FA stock opened at $21.58 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.63. First Advantage has a 52 week low of $8.82 and a 52 week high of $25.15. The company has a current ratio of 3.85, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 719.33 and a beta of 1.12.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. First Advantage’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Advantage will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

About First Advantage

First Advantage provides technology-enabled background screening and verification services to employers and other organizations. Its offerings include criminal-record searches, employment and education verification, identity checks, drug and health screening, and related compliance services used in hiring and workforce management. The company serves customers across North America and international markets, including businesses that need screening processes across multiple locations. Its services are designed to help organizations assess candidates and manage workplace-related risks.