Magnetar Financial LLC Reduces Stock Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Magnetar Financial LLC decreased its position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 22,357 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $6,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 194.5% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $212,415,000 after buying an additional 2,183,960 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 199,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,809,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,061,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 80.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 46,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 20,654 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FAF. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.50.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

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

First American Financial Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:FAF opened at $65.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.09. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $71.47.

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

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

First American Financial 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.