First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $12.22 and last traded at $12.34, with a volume of 37312 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of First Advantage from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised First Advantage from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Advantage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.25.

First Advantage Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.44 and its 200 day moving average is $16.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a current ratio of 3.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 413.00 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Advantage news, President Joelle M. Smith sold 9,900 shares of First Advantage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total value of $155,430.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 42,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,813.90. The trade was a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Advantage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 200.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,409,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940,155 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Advantage by 139.4% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,168,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,559,000 after buying an additional 1,262,787 shares during the period. Sunriver Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 49.2% during the first quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 3,420,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,195,000 after buying an additional 1,128,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cat Rock Capital Management LP raised its position in First Advantage by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cat Rock Capital Management LP now owns 3,068,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,222,000 after buying an additional 702,452 shares during the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Advantage

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.