First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

First American Financial stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 641,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 702,040. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 49.23 and a beta of 1.29. First American Financial has a 1 year low of $51.85 and a 1 year high of $70.92. The stock's fifty day moving average is $62.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.54.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. First American Financial's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that First American Financial will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other First American Financial news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,825 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth $75,780,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in First American Financial by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,046,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $377,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,145 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 13,222.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 849,279 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $53,029,000 after acquiring an additional 842,904 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial by 500.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,003,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $62,646,000 after acquiring an additional 836,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 6,233.2% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 706,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $44,096,000 after acquiring an additional 695,060 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Company Profile

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.