First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $72.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of First American Financial from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $67.75.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FAF opened at $54.22 on Thursday. First American Financial has a 12-month low of $49.55 and a 12-month high of $65.54. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $57.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.33.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.22). First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that First American Financial will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 82.3% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First American Financial

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.