Capital Research Global Investors Buys 109,242 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors increased its First American Financial stake by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 109,242 shares and bringing its holding to 3,415,825 shares worth about $209.9 million.
• First American Financial beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.33 versus $1.06 expected and revenue of $1.85 billion, with revenue up 16.2% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, implying a 3.4% annualized yield, while analysts currently have a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $82.50.

Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,415,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 109,242 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 3.35% of First American Financial worth $209,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in First American Financial by 121.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,483 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in First American Financial by 10.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 293,058 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28,666 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial by 7.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 414,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,600 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial by 182.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 67,572 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 43,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in First American Financial by 11.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stephens boosted their target price on First American Financial from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $82.50.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,850.05. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $468,011.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,854.16. This trade represents a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE:FAF opened at $65.24 on Tuesday. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $71.47. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.64.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. First American Financial's payout ratio is 33.79%.

About First American Financial

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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