Oak Thistle LLC Has $277,000 Stock Position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC significantly reduced its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 82.2%, holding only 4,216 shares valued at $277,000 after selling 19,430 shares in the first quarter.
• First American Financial reported a 14.2% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, totaling $1.84 billion, and exceeded analysts' estimates for earnings per share by $0.13.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54, with a current annualized yield of 3.57%, while also initiating a $300 million share repurchase plan to buy back up to 5.1% of its stock.

Oak Thistle LLC reduced its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 82.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 19,430 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in First American Financial were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FAF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth $75,780,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $377,559,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,145 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 500.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,003,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $62,646,000 after purchasing an additional 836,314 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,626,000. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,993,155 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $249,333,000 after acquiring an additional 359,777 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on FAF. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.50.

First American Financial Trading Up 1.5%

FAF stock opened at $60.52 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $53.09 and a 12 month high of $70.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.91.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.05%.

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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