Gabelli Funds LLC Acquires 4,250 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 11.7%, now holding 40,721 shares valued at approximately $2.67 million.
• Director Margaret M. McCarthy sold 3,500 shares of the company, representing an 11.08% decrease in her ownership.
• First American Financial reported an earnings per share of $1.53 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates and marking a 14.2% increase in revenue compared to last year.

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,721 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 4,250 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in First American Financial were worth $2,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 236,876 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,546,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in First American Financial by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 137.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,091 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 12,222 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,150 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,673,000 after buying an additional 3,557 shares during the period. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 126,093 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,275,000 after buying an additional 29,466 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $229,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:FAF traded up $0.70 on Wednesday, hitting $65.10. The stock had a trading volume of 207,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,577. First American Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.09 and a 52 week high of $70.92. The business's fifty day moving average is $61.77 and its 200 day moving average is $61.22. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 35.98 and a beta of 1.27.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FAF shares. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.