Bar Harbor Wealth Management Buys 46,639 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its stake in First American by 52.4%, buying 46,639 shares in Q4 to hold 135,649 shares worth about $8.33 million (≈0.13% of the company).
• First American beat expectations with Q4 EPS of $1.99 (vs. $1.49 est.) and revenue of $2.0B (up 21.6% YoY), and Wall Street ratings skew toward Buy with a consensus target of $79.00.
• Insider buying: Director Parker S. Kennedy purchased 44,841 shares (~$3.04M), and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.55 (annualized yield ~3.5%).

Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 52.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 135,649 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 46,639 shares during the quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management owned approximately 0.13% of First American Financial worth $8,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 2,887.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 478 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter worth $37,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF opened at $63.28 on Friday. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $71.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $64.29 and its 200 day moving average is $63.27.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.50. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on FAF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised shares of First American Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Stephens raised shares of First American Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Parker S. Kennedy acquired 44,841 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $3,042,461.85. Following the purchase, the director owned 251,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. This represents a 21.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

First American Financial 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.

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