Versor Investments LP Buys 30,477 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP increased its stake in First American Financial Corporation by 750.1% in the first quarter, holding 34,540 shares valued at approximately $2.27 million.
• First American Financial reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.40, and announced a $300 million share repurchase plan.
• Analysts have rated the stock with an average target price of $75.00, with upgrades from various firms, including a rise from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen.

Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 750.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,540 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,477 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in First American Financial were worth $2,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,692,258 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $307,181,000 after purchasing an additional 876,874 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First American Financial by 4.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,150,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $272,406,000 after acquiring an additional 187,144 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake 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. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in First American Financial by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,626,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $106,724,000 after acquiring an additional 95,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,203,977 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $79,017,000 after acquiring an additional 161,819 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $229,705.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,095 shares in the company, valued at $1,843,874.85. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of First American Financial stock traded down $0.0920 on Thursday, hitting $64.5980. 325,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 896,442. First American Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.09 and a 12-month high of $70.92. The company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.69 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $60.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.09.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FAF. Barclays dropped their price target on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.