First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) decreased by 32.9% in July, with approximately 2.3% of the company's stock short sold as of July 31st.
• Wall Street analysts have generally favorable views on the stock, with one rating it a "buy" and others setting a consensus price target of $75.00.
• First American Financial's Board of Directors authorized a $300 million stock repurchase plan, indicating management believes the shares are undervalued.

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,200,000 shares, adecreaseof32.9% from the July 15th total of 3,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently,2.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Currently,2.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $229,705.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners boosted its position in First American Financial by 20.0% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,632,945 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $345,971,000 after purchasing an additional 940,687 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in First American Financial by 4.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,150,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $272,406,000 after purchasing an additional 187,144 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,993,155 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $249,333,000 after purchasing an additional 359,777 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in First American Financial by 6.2% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,626,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $106,724,000 after purchasing an additional 95,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 875.1% during the second quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,323,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $81,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,787 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

First American Financial Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of FAF traded up $1.8260 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.4860. The company had a trading volume of 584,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 651,199. First American Financial has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $70.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.73 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.08.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last issued 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. First American Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 2.90%.The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FAF shares. Barclays cut their price objective on First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

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.