Hsbc Holdings PLC Decreases Stock Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 26.5%, owning 12,809 shares valued at approximately $839,000 after selling 4,607 shares in the first quarter.
• First American Financial reported $1.53 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue increase of 14.2% year-over-year.
• The company's Board has authorized a $300 million share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its stock value, while analysts currently rate the stock as a "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $75.00.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 26.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,809 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,607 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in First American Financial were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners lifted its stake in First American Financial by 23.0% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,692,258 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $307,181,000 after acquiring an additional 876,874 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First American Financial by 4.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,150,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $272,406,000 after acquiring an additional 187,144 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in First American Financial by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,993,155 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $249,333,000 after acquiring an additional 359,777 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in First American Financial by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,626,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $106,724,000 after acquiring an additional 95,165 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in First American Financial by 15.5% in the first quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,203,977 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $79,017,000 after purchasing an additional 161,819 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 28,095 shares in the company, valued at $1,843,874.85. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FAF traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $65.14. The company had a trading volume of 424,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,041. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.99 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $70.92.

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

First American Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.