Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,172 First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,172 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in First American Financial by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 314.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 1,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:FAF traded down $0.71 on Monday, hitting $55.10. The stock had a trading volume of 894,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,899. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $60.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.77. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.08 and a beta of 1.29. First American Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $51.85 and a 52-week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's payout ratio is 143.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

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.