First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.07 EPS

Key Points

• First American Financial reported $1.78 in quarterly EPS, missing the $1.85 consensus estimate by $0.07. Revenue was $2.09 billion, slightly below the $2.10 billion expected.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, or $2.20 annualized, representing a 3.3% yield and a 33.8% payout ratio.
• Wall Street remains generally positive, with seven analysts rating the stock a Buy and one a Hold; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an $82.80 price target.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.07), FiscalAI reports. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share.

First American Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of FAF opened at $66.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 9.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.75. First American Financial has a 12-month low of $56.20 and a 12-month high of $79.87.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 28th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 28th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of First American Financial from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on First American Financial from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on First American Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Steven Adams sold 3,253 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total transaction of $243,942.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $767,447.66. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First American Financial Company Profile

First American Financial Corporation NYSE: FAF is a provider of title insurance, settlement services and financial technology solutions for the real estate and mortgage industries. Through its First American Title operations, the company helps protect property owners, lenders and other parties against title defects and related risks during real estate transactions.

The company's services include title searches and examination, title insurance policies, escrow and closing services, and transaction coordination.