Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Price Target to $77.00

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $75.00 to $77.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.47% from the stock’s current price.

FAF has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens upped their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of FAF stock opened at $61.37 on Monday. First American Financial has a 12-month low of $51.85 and a 12-month high of $70.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 49.09 and a beta of 1.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First American Financial will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First American Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 137.9% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 10,548 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 6,115 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in First American Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 236,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,546,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 266.5% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 85,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,605,000 after buying an additional 62,106 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the first quarter valued at $686,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First American Financial

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.