Cwm LLC Has $1.68 Million Stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

CWM LLC lifted its stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 69.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,625 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,482 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,625,017 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $663,426,000 after acquiring an additional 107,925 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $377,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,145 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 359,777 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,963,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $247,481,000 after purchasing an additional 129,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,735,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $108,368,000 after purchasing an additional 286,711 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAF shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First American Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.50.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $57.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,026,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,283. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $58.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.92. First American Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $53.09 and a 12 month high of $70.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.27 and a beta of 1.24.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.19. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.05%.

First American Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.