First American Financial’s (FAF) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) in a research report sent 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 brokerages also recently weighed in on FAF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of First American Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a buy rating for the company. TheStreet cut shares of First American Financial from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First American Financial from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $67.75.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

FAF stock opened at $54.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94 and a beta of 1.28. First American Financial has a 12 month low of $49.55 and a 12 month high of $65.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.30.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued 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 net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. First American Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that First American Financial will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in First American Financial by 82.3% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 505 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

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.