First American Financial Corporation $FAF Stock: Reinhart Partners LLC. Lowers Holdings

Key Points

• Reinhart Partners reduced its First American Financial stake by 1.2% in the third quarter, selling 18,742 shares but retaining 1.53 million shares valued at approximately $93.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.05% of FAF.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold rating. First American Financial has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $83.80.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.08, exceeding estimates of $1.80, while revenue rose 15% year over year to $2.11 billion. FAF also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% annual yield.

Reinhart Partners LLC. lessened its holdings in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,534,492 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 18,742 shares during the quarter. First American Financial makes up approximately 2.3% of Reinhart Partners LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Reinhart Partners LLC. owned 1.50% of First American Financial worth $93,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. grew its stake in First American Financial by 616.4% during the first quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 437 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in First American Financial by 70.7% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 437 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 140.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 600 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAF has been the topic of several research reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of First American Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of First American Financial from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of First American Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven 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, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.80.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FAF stock opened at $61.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.20 and a 52-week high of $79.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.39.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 7.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 28th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 28th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.80%.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, CAO Steven Adams sold 3,253 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total transaction of $243,942.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $767,447.66. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation NYSE: FAF provides title insurance, settlement services and related real estate transaction solutions. Through its title insurance operations, the company protects property buyers, lenders and other parties against certain losses arising from defects in title, liens and other issues affecting ownership or mortgage interests.

The company also offers escrow and closing services, title search and examination, property information, valuation, mortgage subservicing and other technology-enabled solutions for the real estate and mortgage industries.

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