First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Stephens assumed coverage on First American Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First American Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.67.

First American Financial Trading Up 1.2%

First American Financial stock opened at $67.34 on Friday. First American Financial has a 52 week low of $53.09 and a 52 week high of $68.75. The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.79.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.50. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that First American Financial will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other news, Director Parker S. Kennedy acquired 44,841 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $3,042,461.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 251,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,067,803.20. This represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,850 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC raised its position in First American Financial by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 7,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in First American Financial by 0.9% during the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 21,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Company Profile

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.