First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TheStreet downgraded First American Financial from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $167,000. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management raised its holdings in First American Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 62,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in First American Financial by 231.4% during the third quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 19,250 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 13,442 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in First American Financial by 33.6% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,260 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in First American Financial by 3.2% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,828 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF traded up $1.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 541,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 695,254. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $57.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.27. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 1.28. First American Financial has a twelve month low of $49.55 and a twelve month high of $65.54.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.47 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First American Financial will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.92%.

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.