First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Bought by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 3,226.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,647 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in First American Financial by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,681 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 88.4% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 5,775 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $235,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,785,000 after buying an additional 11,821 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FAF shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on First American Financial from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Stephens began coverage on First American Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.75.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF opened at $61.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.11 and a 200-day moving average of $62.81. First American Financial Corporation has a one year low of $53.09 and a one year high of $68.64.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.28. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 6.80%.The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is presently 47.31%.

First American Financial Company Profile

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.