UBS Group AG Purchases 18,175 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• UBS Group AG boosted its stake in First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) by 2.4% in Q4, buying 18,175 shares to hold 786,050 shares (about 0.77%), valued at roughly $48.3 million.
• Director Parker S. Kennedy purchased 44,841 shares at an average of $67.85 (~$3.04 million), increasing his holding to 251,552 shares (a 21.69% rise).
• First American beat quarterly estimates with EPS $1.33 vs $1.06 and revenue $1.85B vs $1.80B, and analysts have raised price targets (average target ≈ $82.50) with mostly "Buy" ratings.

UBS Group AG boosted its position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 786,050 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 18,175 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.77% of First American Financial worth $48,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,850 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in First American Financial by 0.9% in the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First American Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 68,189 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,190,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 33.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 859 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 0.5% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 45,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,820,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Parker S. Kennedy purchased 44,841 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $3,042,461.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 251,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. The trade was a 21.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,854.16. The trade was a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:FAF opened at $70.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.86. The company has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.28. First American Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $53.09 and a 12 month high of $71.47.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.First American Financial's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FAF. Wall Street Zen downgraded First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens lifted their price target on First American Financial from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $82.50.

First American Financial Profile

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company's title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.

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