First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 51.2%, acquiring an additional 227,382 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 671,616 shares valued at around $44 million.
• First American Financial's Board of Directors approved a $300 million stock buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 5.1% of its outstanding shares, signaling a belief that its stock is undervalued.
• Analysts are generally optimistic with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target around $75, following recent earnings that exceeded expectations with a 14.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 51.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 671,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 227,382 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.65% of First American Financial worth $44,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in First American Financial by 645.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 132.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 23.9% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $229,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,843,874.85. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded down $1.40 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.73. The stock had a trading volume of 777,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,501. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.32. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.87 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92.

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

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on FAF shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

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.