Engineers Gate Manager LP Cuts Stake in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP reduced its First American Financial stake by 74.6% in the second quarter, selling 27,654 shares and retaining 9,426 shares valued at approximately $647,000. Institutional investors collectively own 89.05% of the company.
• First American Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.08 versus the $1.80 consensus estimate and revenue of $2.11 billion, up 15% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, or $2.20 annually, representing a 3.2% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $84.60.

Engineers Gate Manager LP trimmed its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 74.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,426 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 27,654 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in First American Financial were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in First American Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $643,570,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 valued at $279,529,000 after purchasing an additional 245,279 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in First American Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,415,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $209,868,000 after purchasing an additional 109,242 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,793,179 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $110,200,000 after purchasing an additional 19,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in First American Financial by 1.9% during the second quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,553,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $106,537,000 after purchasing an additional 28,534 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $69.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.52. First American Financial Corporation has a one year low of $56.20 and a one year high of $79.87.

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

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Monday, September 28th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 28th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.47%.

Insider Activity

In other First American Financial news, CAO Steven Adams sold 3,253 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were 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 owned 10,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $767,447.66. This trade represents a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAF. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of First American Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.60.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation NYSE: FAF provides title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions. Through its title insurance operations, the company protects property buyers, lenders and other parties against certain losses arising from defects in ownership records, liens and other title-related issues.

The company also offers escrow and closing services, real estate data and analytics, valuation products, and technology solutions designed to support mortgage lenders, real estate professionals, homebuilders and commercial property participants.

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