First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Sold by Channing Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Channing Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in First American Financial by 3.3% during the first quarter, bringing its ownership to approximately 135,726 shares valued at $8.9 million.
• First American Financial's stock opened at $64.71, with a market cap of $6.59 billion, and reported a 14.2% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year, achieving $1.84 billion.
• The company has authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $300 million, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Channing Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,726 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,631 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of First American Financial worth $8,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in First American Financial during the first quarter worth about $1,692,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 3.2% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,063,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $69,780,000 after purchasing an additional 32,610 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 750.1% during the 1st quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 34,540 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,267,000 after purchasing an additional 30,477 shares in the last quarter. CacheTech Inc. increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 10,983 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 172,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,349,000 after purchasing an additional 11,672 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports 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 First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $229,705.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First American Financial Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of FAF stock traded up $1.8260 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.4860. 584,107 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 676,615. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.10. The stock has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73 and a beta of 1.24.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.