Bayforest Capital Ltd Makes New Investment in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a $721,000 stake in First American Financial Corporation, purchasing 10,980 shares during the first quarter of the year.
• First American Financial recently declared a $300 million stock buyback program, indicating that management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company's stock has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion and reported earnings of $1.53 per share last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,980 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in First American Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First American Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in First American Financial by 645.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $229,705.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF traded down $0.46 on Friday, reaching $67.57. 405,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 592,927. The company's 50 day moving average is $62.56 and its 200-day moving average is $61.37. The company has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.09 and a twelve month high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from First American Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is 121.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FAF. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.