Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires New Stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 22,054 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,447,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in First American Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 645.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 132.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 692 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE FAF traded up $0.91 on Friday, hitting $60.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,092,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,636,060. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $70.92. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $58.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.91. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 1.24.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.50.

About First American Financial

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.