First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• First American Financial has a consensus analyst rating of “Buy” from seven brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $82.50.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.33 EPS versus the $1.06 estimate, while revenue rose 16.2% year over year to $1.85 billion.
• First American Financial also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, implying an annualized yield of 3.3%.

Shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $82.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FAF. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In related news, Director Parker S. Kennedy bought 44,841 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $17,067,803.20. This trade represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $71,680,000. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,717,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $815,000. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in First American Financial by 24.7% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 98,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 19,600 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in First American Financial by 469.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,417 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,949 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $67.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.28. First American Financial has a 12 month low of $53.09 and a 12 month high of $71.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.16.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that First American Financial will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. First American Financial's payout ratio is presently 33.79%.

First American Financial Company 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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