First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.00.

FAF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TheStreet cut shares of First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF stock opened at $61.05 on Friday. First American Financial has a one year low of $49.55 and a one year high of $65.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.24. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 1.27.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.06). First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 3.61%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. First American Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that First American Financial will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 8,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 46,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 42,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 242,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,617,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First American Financial Company Profile

First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Home Warranty segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services internationally.