Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Boosts Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 223.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 310,379 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 214,286 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned 0.30% of First American Financial worth $19,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 194.5% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $212,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183,960 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 199,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,061,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 80.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 46,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,978,000 after buying an additional 20,654 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Trading Down 3.1%

NYSE:FAF opened at $63.50 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.81 and a 200-day moving average of $64.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.25. First American Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.09 and a 52 week high of $71.47.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.50. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 8.34%.The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FAF. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stephens raised shares of First American Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.50.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, Director Parker S. Kennedy bought 44,841 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $3,042,461.85. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 251,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. This trade represents a 21.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First American Financial Company Profile

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.