Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Grows Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 72.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,948 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $2,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adams Wealth Management increased its stake in First American Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. Adams Wealth Management now owns 10,983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. CacheTech Inc. increased its stake in First American Financial by 1.9% during the first quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 10,983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in First American Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 43,006 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 23.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 3.7% during the first quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $229,705.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on FAF. Wall Street Zen raised First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

First American Financial Stock Up 1.4%

FAF opened at $62.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.97 and a 200 day moving average of $61.23. First American Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $70.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.27.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.42. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 6.80%.The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. First American Financial’s revenue was up 40.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from First American Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. First American Financial’s payout ratio is currently 47.31%.

First American Financial Profile

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.