First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.980-1.020 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.910. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.5 billion-$1.6 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.5 billion.

First Advantage Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE FA opened at $13.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 3.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 443.67 and a beta of 1.19. First Advantage has a 1 year low of $12.25 and a 1 year high of $20.79.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.02. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The business’s revenue was up 105.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. First Advantage has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.980-1.020 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Advantage will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FA shares. Zacks Research downgraded First Advantage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Advantage presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Joelle M. Smith sold 9,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total transaction of $155,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 42,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $670,813.90. This trade represents a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in First Advantage by 724.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,256,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,618,946 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the second quarter worth about $7,107,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 39.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 775,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,876,000 after buying an additional 218,698 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of First Advantage by 9.0% in the second quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,704,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,304,000 after acquiring an additional 141,212 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in First Advantage during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,529,000. 94.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Advantage Company Profile

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.