Vest Financial LLC Buys Shares of 23,474 First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake of 23,474 shares in First American Financial during the fourth quarter, valued at approximately $1,442,000.
• First American reported quarterly EPS of $1.33 on April 22, beating estimates by $0.27, while revenue rose 16.2% year-over-year to $1.85 billion.
• Several analysts have upgraded the stock to a consensus "Buy" with a target price of $82.50; the shares trade near $70 with a market cap of about $7.14 billion and a PE of 10.77.

Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,474 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,442,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in First American Financial by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $393,690,000 after acquiring an additional 500,649 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First American Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $275,816,000 after acquiring an additional 168,706 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in First American Financial by 194.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $212,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183,960 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its stake in First American Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,598,007 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $102,657,000 after acquiring an additional 380,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,430,000 after purchasing an additional 224,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 1.4%

FAF opened at $70.10 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $64.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.67. First American Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $71.47. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $468,011.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,695,854.16. This represents a 21.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Parker S. Kennedy acquired 44,841 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.85 per share, for a total transaction of $3,042,461.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 251,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. This represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded First American Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stephens upped their price objective on First American Financial from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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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