First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Receives $75.00 Average PT from Analysts

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.00.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Saturday, September 27th.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF opened at $64.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.56 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $64.77 and its 200-day moving average is $61.47. First American Financial has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that First American Financial will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from First American Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.55%.

First American Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $229,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in First American Financial by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 236,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,546,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 137.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 12,222 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,673,000 after acquiring an additional 3,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 30.5% in the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 126,093 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,275,000 after acquiring an additional 29,466 shares in the last quarter. 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.