Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 42,067 Shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 14.1%, selling 42,067 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 256,408 shares currently.
• First American Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.53, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a total revenue of $1.84 billion and a net margin of 2.90%.
• The company announced a $300 million share buyback program aimed at repurchasing up to 5.1% of its outstanding shares, signaling potential undervaluation in its stock.

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 256,408 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 42,067 shares during the quarter. First American Financial accounts for 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.25% of First American Financial worth $16,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,625,017 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $663,426,000 after purchasing an additional 107,925 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in First American Financial by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $377,559,000 after buying an additional 1,042,145 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in First American Financial by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,993,155 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $249,333,000 after buying an additional 359,777 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in First American Financial by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,963,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $247,481,000 after purchasing an additional 129,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,735,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $108,368,000 after buying an additional 286,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

First American Financial Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of FAF stock opened at $59.69 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $58.16 and its 200-day moving average is $60.91. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $70.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.98 and a beta of 1.24.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 10.47%. First American Financial's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. First American Financial's payout ratio is 143.05%.

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.

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