Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $51.02 Million Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 34.6%, selling 411,839 shares to hold a total of 777,323 shares, valued at approximately $51 million.
• First American Financial reported strong earnings for the last quarter, with a net margin of 2.90% and a revenue increase of 14.2% year-over-year, outperforming analysts’ estimates.
• The company has initiated a $300 million stock repurchase program as part of its strategy, indicating management believes its stock is undervalued.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lowered its position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 34.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 777,323 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 411,839 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.76% of First American Financial worth $51,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 51.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 671,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,058,000 after buying an additional 227,382 shares during the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 11.7% in the first quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 71,490 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,692,000 after buying an additional 7,513 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the first quarter valued at about $15,580,000. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 944.4% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 6,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 6,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the first quarter valued at about $7,395,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FAF. Barclays cut their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of First American Financial stock traded up $2.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $68.28. 548,898 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,433. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $70.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $62.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.35.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.13. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 2.90%.The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from First American Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is 119.34%.

First American Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $229,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First American Financial 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.