Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 62.5% in Q1, holding 5,750 shares valued at $377,000 after selling 9,603 shares.
• First American Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share and announced a $300 million stock buyback plan, signaling confidence in its valuation.
• The company's earnings report showed a net margin of 2.90% and revenue growth of 14.2% year-over-year, with EPS at $1.53, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 62.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,750 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,603 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in First American Financial were worth $377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FAF. FMR LLC raised its holdings in First American Financial by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $377,559,000 after buying an additional 1,042,145 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 500.7% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,003,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $62,646,000 after buying an additional 836,314 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $41,626,000. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 359,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $19,377,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $62.60. 262,691 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 919,607. The firm's 50-day moving average is $58.74 and its 200 day moving average is $60.96. The company has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.58 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted 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. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's payout ratio is presently 119.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

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.