First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Research Coverage Started at Benchmark

Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $85.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock.

FAF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of First American Financial from $87.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.20.

First American Financial Stock Down 2.0%

First American Financial stock opened at $69.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.23. First American Financial has a 12-month low of $56.20 and a 12-month high of $73.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.91.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that First American Financial will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.79%.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew its position in First American Financial by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,690,000 after purchasing an additional 500,649 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $355,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786,134 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,636,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,529,000 after purchasing an additional 245,279 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,415,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $209,868,000 after purchasing an additional 109,242 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,793,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $110,200,000 after buying an additional 19,752 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Key First American Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting First American Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FAF beat second-quarter expectations, reporting $2.08 in EPS versus the $1.80 consensus and revenue of $2.11 billion versus $2.03 billion expected, helped by commercial title strength, higher investment income, and better average revenue per order. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark Co. initiated coverage with a Buy rating and an $85 price target, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several transcript and earnings-snapshot articles from Benzinga, Seeking Alpha, and other outlets mainly repeat the same strong quarterly results and conference call details, reinforcing the upbeat but not materially new narrative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research nudged some future EPS estimates higher for 2027 and 2028, but cut its Q1 2027 forecast, leaving the longer-term outlook mixed while maintaining a Hold rating. Article Title

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.