Gabelli Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 81.6% in the fourth quarter, holding 79,362 shares worth about $4.9 million.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat on FAF, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $82.50; Truist and Barclays recently raised their targets.
• First American Financial reported better-than-expected Q1 results, including EPS of $1.33 versus $1.06 expected, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share.

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 81.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,362 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,650 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.08% of First American Financial worth $4,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in First American Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 859 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 189.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 912 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on FAF shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research raised First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $82.50.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $68.06 on Thursday. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $71.47. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $64.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.29. The company has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The company's revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. First American Financial's payout ratio is currently 33.79%.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,695,854.16. The trade was a 21.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company's title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.

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