Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 152,840 Shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,472,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 152,840 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.18% of First American Financial worth $687,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,993,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,333,000 after purchasing an additional 359,777 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in First American Financial by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,963,516 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $247,481,000 after purchasing an additional 129,863 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in First American Financial by 6.2% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,626,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,724,000 after purchasing an additional 95,165 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in First American Financial by 15.5% during the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,203,977 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,017,000 after purchasing an additional 161,819 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in First American Financial by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,189,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,251,000 after purchasing an additional 295,946 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FAF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF opened at $66.09 on Thursday. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.51 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.74 and a 200-day moving average of $61.04.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board 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.