First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $72.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. TheStreet lowered shares of First American Financial from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $67.75.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of FAF stock opened at $54.22 on Thursday. First American Financial has a 12-month low of $49.55 and a 12-month high of $65.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.50 and a 200-day moving average of $58.33.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.22). First American Financial had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. First American Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that First American Financial will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 82.3% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.