Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,043 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,127,746 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $572,116,000 after acquiring an additional 81,888 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in First American Financial by 17.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,169,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $178,994,000 after purchasing an additional 473,961 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 2.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,671,456 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $150,911,000 after purchasing an additional 72,860 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in First American Financial by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,135,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $120,615,000 after purchasing an additional 133,807 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in First American Financial by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,229,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,216,000 after buying an additional 387,848 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF stock opened at $54.22 on Friday. First American Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $49.55 and a 1-year high of $65.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 1.28.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.20% and a net margin of 3.64%. First American Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 4.28 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FAF. TheStreet downgraded First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.75.

First American Financial 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.