Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $377,000 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 stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 62.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,750 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,603 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in First American Financial were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAF. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 645.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 132.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 23.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First American Financial Price Performance

First American Financial stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.60. The stock had a trading volume of 870,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,666,445. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $58.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.95. First American Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.09 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The firm has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48 and a beta of 1.24.

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

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were paid 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 3.6%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.34%.

First American Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign 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.