First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded First Advantage from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, indicating a shift in investor sentiment.
• First Advantage reported an EPS of $0.27 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.03 while its revenue rose by 111.7% year-over-year.
• Two analysts have rated First Advantage as a Buy and five have given it a Hold rating, with the average target price set at $20.00.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Advantage currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.00.

First Advantage Stock Performance

First Advantage stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.88. 33,067 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,009,729. First Advantage has a 52 week low of $12.32 and a 52 week high of $20.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a current ratio of 3.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 493.67 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $16.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.18.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.03. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 0.65%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. First Advantage's quarterly revenue was up 111.7% on a year-over-year basis. First Advantage has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.860-1.030 EPS. On average, analysts expect that First Advantage will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other First Advantage news, President Joelle M. Smith sold 9,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total transaction of $155,430.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 42,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,813.90. This represents a 18.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Advantage

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FA. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of First Advantage in the 4th quarter worth $257,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of First Advantage by 748.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 6,078 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of First Advantage by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 87,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 8,498 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of First Advantage by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of First Advantage by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,562,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,020,000 after purchasing an additional 293,044 shares during the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Advantage Company Profile

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.

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