Brokerages Set First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) PT at $68.00

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.75.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FAF. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of First American Financial in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. TheStreet downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF opened at $54.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09 and a beta of 1.28. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $49.55 and a fifty-two week high of $65.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $57.70 and its 200 day moving average is $58.29.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.22). First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 3.61%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that First American Financial will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is 101.92%.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FAF. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $167,000. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 62,198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,514,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in First American Financial by 231.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 19,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 13,442 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in First American Financial by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,260 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in First American Financial by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Company Profile

First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Home Warranty segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services internationally.