First American Financial Corporation $FAF Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,636,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 245,279 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 4.55% of First American Financial worth $279,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 616.4% during the 1st quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 437 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 568.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Key First American Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting First American Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FAF beat Q2 expectations, posting adjusted EPS of $2.08 versus the $1.80 consensus, and revenue of $2.11 billion versus estimates of $2.03 billion, which points to solid underlying operating performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent analyst updates nudged near- and medium-term earnings estimates slightly higher, suggesting some confidence in FAF’s earnings trajectory. Reference
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research maintained a “Hold” rating, indicating analysts see the stock as fairly valued rather than a clear buy at current levels. Reference
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, the stock has been pressured as investors may be taking profits or weighing whether the improvement is enough to justify a further re-rating after the recent run-up. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FAF shares. Zacks Research cut shares of First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven 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.com, First American Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.20.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $70.43 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.85. The company has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.23. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.20 and a 1 year high of $73.50.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is currently 33.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

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

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.