First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 0.3% during the first 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 23.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 137.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 2.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter worth about $829,000. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 0.5%

FAF opened at $59.05 on Tuesday. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.09 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.62 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.71 and its 200-day moving average is $61.24.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 2.90%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This is an increase from First American Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 121.55%.

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.25.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 28,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.