Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,779,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 1,107.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 568.8% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 749 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in First American Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FAF. Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research downgraded First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.25.

First American Financial Trading Down 0.3%

First American Financial stock opened at $68.58 on Wednesday. First American Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.09 and a 12-month high of $71.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.67 and a 200 day moving average of $64.96.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.79%.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,854.16. This trade represents a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First American Financial 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.