Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Raises Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 163.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,576 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,695 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in First American Financial were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FAF. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in First American Financial by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First American Financial by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in First American Financial by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FAF. Stephens raised their price target on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First American Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.78. 578,900 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 657,261. The business's 50-day moving average price is $62.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 49.42 and a beta of 1.23. First American Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $51.85 and a 1-year high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. First American Financial's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In related news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total transaction of $7,121,355.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 127,707 shares of company stock valued at $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.