Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Stock Price

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $84.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential upside of 13.75% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on FAF. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research lowered First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on First American Financial in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.60.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of FAF traded up $6.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.61. The stock had a trading volume of 580,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,012,759. First American Financial has a 52 week low of $56.20 and a 52 week high of $75.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.91. The company has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 9.33%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First American Financial

In other First American Financial news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,033,850.05. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners increased its holdings in First American Financial by 8.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,690,000 after buying an additional 500,649 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $355,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786,134 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,636,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,529,000 after purchasing an additional 245,279 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,415,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $209,868,000 after purchasing an additional 109,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,793,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $110,200,000 after purchasing an additional 19,752 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about First American Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting First American Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: First American Financial beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.08 per share versus the $1.80 consensus and $2.11 billion in revenue versus $2.03 billion expected, which supports the recent share-price strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management and coverage reports pointed to record commercial revenue, stronger title insurance activity, higher investment income, and better average revenue per order, suggesting operating fundamentals are improving. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark Co. initiated coverage with a buy rating and an $85 price target, implying additional upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several follow-up items were published, including earnings-call transcripts and a Q1/Q3 estimate note from Zacks Research, but these appear to be informational rather than new catalysts. Article Title

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.