First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) CAO Sells $243,942.47 in Stock

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) CAO Steven Adams sold 3,253 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $243,942.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 10,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $767,447.66. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

First American Financial Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of FAF opened at $75.59 on Friday. First American Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $56.20 and a 12-month high of $79.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.23.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. First American Financial’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 30.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position 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 worth $355,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786,134 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,011,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in First American Financial during the first quarter worth $71,680,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in First American Financial by 469.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,284,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth $63,693,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays raised their target price on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.60.

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.