Brokerages Set First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) PT at $78.50

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $78.50.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on 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 reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, December 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In related news, Director Parker S. Kennedy purchased 44,841 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $3,042,461.85. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 210,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,538,000 after buying an additional 20,188 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First American Financial by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,430,000 after buying an additional 224,277 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 129.0% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,976,000 after acquiring an additional 36,485 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $275,816,000 after acquiring an additional 168,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in First American Financial in the third quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF stock opened at $58.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.64. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $71.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.25.

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

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

About First American Financial

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.