Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Stock Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC has increased its stock position in First American Financial Corporation by 8.5%, now holding approximately 187,105 shares valued at $11.7 million.
• The company's recent earnings report beat expectations, with a reported earnings per share of $1.53 and revenue of $1.84 billion, up 14.2% from the previous year.
• First American Financial has approved a quarterly dividend increase to $0.55 per share, alongside a $300 million share repurchase program, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 187,105 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,596 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.18% of First American Financial worth $11,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First American Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in First American Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the first quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 23.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $75.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $229,705.00. Following the sale, the director owned 28,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $59.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $70.92. The firm's fifty day moving average is $64.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.09.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 2.90%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This is an increase from First American Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. First American Financial's payout ratio is presently 121.55%.

First American Financial declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

First American Financial Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.