Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 128,057 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its First American Financial stake by 45.5% in the second quarter, selling 128,057 shares and retaining 153,670 shares worth approximately $10.54 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.05% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold rating, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation and an average price target of $84.60.
• First American Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.08 versus the $1.80 consensus and revenue of $2.11 billion, up 15% year over year.

Squarepoint Ops LLC trimmed its position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 45.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 153,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 128,057 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.15% of First American Financial worth $10,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,608,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $6,713,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $71,680,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in First American Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $643,570,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in First American Financial by 81.6% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 79,362 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,876,000 after acquiring an additional 35,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on FAF shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of First American Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark initiated coverage on First American Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In other news, CAO Steven Adams sold 3,253 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $243,942.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $767,447.66. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $71.17 on Friday. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.20 and a fifty-two week high of $79.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.38.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. First American Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 9.33%.The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation NYSE: FAF provides title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions. Through its title insurance operations, the company protects property buyers, lenders and other parties against certain losses arising from defects in ownership records, liens and other title-related issues.

The company also offers escrow and closing services, real estate data and analytics, valuation products, and technology solutions designed to support mortgage lenders, real estate professionals, homebuilders and commercial property participants.

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