Cwm LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Cwm LLC lowered its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 63.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,194 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in First American Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First American Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in First American Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in First American Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FAF shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Truist Financial set a $76.00 target price on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.00.

First American Financial Trading Up 3.4%

FAF opened at $63.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.10. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.09 and a twelve month high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The business’s revenue was up 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This is a positive change from First American Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.55%.

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.