First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) to Repurchase $300.00 million in Outstanding Stock

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.50.

First American Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of FAF stock traded up $0.91 on Friday, reaching $60.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,092,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 929,252. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial has a one year low of $53.09 and a one year high of $70.92. The business's 50-day moving average is $58.16 and its 200 day moving average is $60.91.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 10.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 143.05%.

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.