Millennium Management LLC Trims Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC reduced its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 26.2%, selling 1,134,531 shares, and now holds approximately 3.10% of the company worth around $209.5 million.
• First American Financial's stock price rose by 1.8% and the company reported earnings of $1.53 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program worth $300 million, signaling confidence that the stock may be undervalued.

Millennium Management LLC cut its stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 26.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,192,862 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,134,531 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 3.10% of First American Financial worth $209,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 84,344 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,377,000. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $368,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 9,827 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.52. 278,961 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,381. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $70.92. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.32.

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

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $229,705.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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.