First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.75.

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, December 26th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Boston Partners lifted its stake in First American Financial by 8.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,690,000 after acquiring an additional 500,649 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $355,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786,134 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $275,816,000 after purchasing an additional 168,706 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 194.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $212,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,793,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $110,200,000 after buying an additional 19,752 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $65.64 on Thursday. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $68.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.44.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.31%.

About First American Financial

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.