Wall Street Zen Upgrades First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) to "Buy"

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

FAF has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Performance

First American Financial stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $55.25. 649,685 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 719,800. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $61.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.03. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.20 and a beta of 1.29. First American Financial has a 52 week low of $51.85 and a 52 week high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.19. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. First American Financial's payout ratio is currently 143.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in First American Financial by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 645.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

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.