First Advantage Co. $FA Shares Purchased by Fred Alger Management LLC

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in First Advantage Co. by 10.4% in Q1, owning 1,289,173 shares worth approximately $18.16 million.
• Analysts recently exhibited a positive outlook, with Zacks Research upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" and Barclays increasing the price target from $15.00 to $18.00.
• First Advantage reported a significant financial performance with a 111.7% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, exceeding EPS estimates at $0.27 per share.

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,289,173 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 121,687 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.74% of First Advantage worth $18,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 200.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,409,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940,155 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the 4th quarter valued at $71,695,000. Sunriver Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Advantage by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 3,420,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,195,000 after buying an additional 1,128,272 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of First Advantage by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,421,573 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,954,000 after buying an additional 216,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Advantage by 139.4% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,168,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,559,000 after buying an additional 1,262,787 shares during the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on FA shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of First Advantage from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of First Advantage from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.25.

First Advantage Stock Performance

First Advantage stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.78. 671,247 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,784. First Advantage Co. has a 12-month low of $12.32 and a 12-month high of $20.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a current ratio of 3.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 526.00 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $16.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.00.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The company's revenue was up 111.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. First Advantage has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.860-1.030 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Advantage Co. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.