First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.50.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF stock traded up $1.47 on Friday, hitting $58.04. 3,957,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 797,359. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial has a twelve month low of $53.09 and a twelve month high of $70.92. The business's fifty day moving average is $58.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First American Financial will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 236,876 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,546,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 30.5% during the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 126,093 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,275,000 after purchasing an additional 29,466 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter worth $829,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 24.1% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 107,397 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,048,000 after purchasing an additional 20,890 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

About First American Financial

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.