First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TheStreet lowered shares of First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on First American Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 44,007 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,486,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 117,044 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,612,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 55,462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $57.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.27. First American Financial has a one year low of $49.55 and a one year high of $65.54.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that First American Financial will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. 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.