Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in First American Financial Corporation by 44.2% during the second quarter, now owning 12,457 shares valued at approximately $765,000.
• Institutional investors collectively own 89.05% of First American Financial's stock, with several firms increasing their positions, including Truist Financial Corp, which boosted its stake by 10.0%.
• First American Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $0.54, and announced a $300 million share buyback program.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 44.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,873 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in First American Financial were worth $765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lynx Investment Advisory lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 9,830 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in First American Financial by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,884 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management boosted its stake in First American Financial by 5.1% in the second quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 7,505 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in First American Financial by 8.9% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 254,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,602,000 after acquiring an additional 20,776 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First American Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FAF stock opened at $63.80 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $64.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25 and a beta of 1.27. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 2.90%.The company's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from First American Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 121.55%.

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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