Cetera Investment Advisers Has $1.38 Million Holdings in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 137.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,222 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in First American Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in First American Financial by 645.7% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in First American Financial by 132.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF opened at $62.72 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.97. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.09 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65 and a beta of 1.24.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.13. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.34%.

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.