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

Key Points

• First American Financial has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from eight brokerages, with seven buys and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $84.60, above the stock’s reported $71.78 price.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.08 in EPS versus the $1.80 consensus and $2.11 billion in revenue versus $2.03 billion estimates. Revenue increased 15% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 89.05% of the stock, while an insider sale reduced the chief accounting officer’s holdings by 24.12%; FAF shares have traded between $56.20 and $79.87 over the past year.

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.60.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FAF. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research lowered First American Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, CAO Steven A. Adams sold 3,253 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $243,942.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $767,447.66. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in First American Financial by 6,303.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,712,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $529,022,000 after purchasing an additional 7,592,360 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in First American Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $368,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First American Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 216.2% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 172,767 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,850,000 after buying an additional 118,136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $71.78 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $71.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.22. First American Financial has a one year low of $56.20 and a one year high of $79.87.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.28. First American Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 9.33%.The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First American Financial will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About First American Financial

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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