First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $71.80 and last traded at $71.3410, with a volume of 34486 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FAF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research lowered First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.25.

First American Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $67.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.12.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 12.58%. First American Financial’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First American Financial news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,850.05. The trade was a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,854.16. This represents a 21.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 135,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,334,000 after purchasing an additional 46,639 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth $6,713,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $5,046,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 4th quarter worth $1,608,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $1,360,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First American Financial

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.