BlackRock Inc. Purchases New Shares in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 9.38 million shares of First American Financial during the second quarter, valued at approximately $643.6 million and representing a 9.19% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 89.05% of the company.
• First American Financial reported quarterly earnings of $2.08 per share, surpassing the $1.80 analyst estimate, while revenue rose 15% year over year to $2.11 billion.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold rating; the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $84.60.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,382,850 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $643,570,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 9.19% of First American Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FAF. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 8.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $393,690,000 after acquiring an additional 500,649 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $355,508,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786,134 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First American Financial by 5.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,636,464 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $279,529,000 after acquiring an additional 245,279 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in First American Financial by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,415,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $209,868,000 after purchasing an additional 109,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First American Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,793,179 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $110,200,000 after purchasing an additional 19,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, CAO Steven A. Adams sold 3,253 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $243,942.47. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Benchmark started coverage on First American Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.60.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF stock opened at $71.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.70. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.20 and a 1 year high of $79.87.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Company 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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