Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in First Advantage Co. $FA

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. has significantly reduced its stake in First Advantage Co. by 49.2% during the second quarter, owning 290,532 shares valued at approximately $4.83 million.
• Analysts have recently downgraded shares of First Advantage from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, with an average target price of $20.00.
• The company reported a 111.7% year-over-year increase in revenue for the last quarter, posting an EPS of $0.27 which exceeded expectations.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. cut its position in shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA - Free Report) by 49.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 290,532 shares of the company's stock after selling 280,932 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned 0.17% of First Advantage worth $4,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC purchased a new stake in First Advantage during the first quarter worth $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in First Advantage during the first quarter worth $63,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First Advantage by 748.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 6,078 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Advantage by 2,967.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,232 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 8,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in First Advantage during the first quarter worth $187,000. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Advantage from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

First Advantage Stock Performance

NYSE:FA opened at $14.26 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 475.33 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a current ratio of 3.85. First Advantage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.32 and a fifty-two week high of $20.79.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. First Advantage's revenue for the quarter was up 111.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. First Advantage has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.860-1.030 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Advantage Co. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Advantage

In other news, President Joelle M. Smith sold 9,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total value of $155,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 42,727 shares in the company, valued at $670,813.90. This represents a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Advantage Profile

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.

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