Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.87 Million Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 29,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its position in First American Financial by 161.3% during the 4th quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FAF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

First American Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

First American Financial stock opened at $55.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.84 and a 200-day moving average of $58.16. First American Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $49.55 and a 52 week high of $65.54.

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). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.92%.

First American Financial 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.