State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Acquires 3,700 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 12.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,979 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $2,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FAF. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $686,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 266.5% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 85,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,605,000 after acquiring an additional 62,106 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $15,546,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 137.9% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 10,548 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after acquiring an additional 6,115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 28,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Barclays upped 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

First American Financial Stock Down 2.3%

FAF opened at $61.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.22. First American Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.09 and a 52 week high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.27.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.42. First American Financial had a net margin of 6.80% and a return on equity of 11.01%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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. This is a boost from First American Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is currently 47.31%.

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.