Channing Capital Management LLC Reduces Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 236,876 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,546,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 23.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 137.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,091 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 12,222 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,150 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,673,000 after purchasing 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 first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 126,093 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,275,000 after purchasing an additional 29,466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of First American Financial 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 sale, the director directly owned 28,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FAF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of FAF traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.44. 111,148 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,297. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.10. The company has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.73 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $70.92.

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

First American Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

About First American Financial

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.