First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Hits New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• First American Financial shares hit a new 52-week high, reaching $71.93 after rising about 3.2% on the day, reflecting recent upward momentum in the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on FAF, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.00, though there was some mixed action among individual ratings and targets.
• The company posted solid quarterly results and a dividend: EPS of $1.33 beat estimates, revenue rose 16.2% year over year, and the stock carries a 3.1% annualized dividend yield.

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $71.93 and last traded at $71.5250, with a volume of 120038 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $69.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded First American Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of First American Financial from $87.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.00.

First American Financial Trading Up 3.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.50.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,695,854.16. The trade was a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,850.05. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $355,508,000 after buying an additional 5,786,134 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $75,011,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in First American Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $71,680,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in First American Financial by 469.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,417 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,949 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $63,693,000. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

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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