Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $4.61 Million Investment in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 75,097 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,610,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FAF. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 23.0% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,692,258 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $307,181,000 after purchasing an additional 876,874 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in First American Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $20,636,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in First American Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $15,580,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in First American Financial by 51.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 671,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,058,000 after acquiring an additional 227,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First American Financial by 4.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,150,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $272,406,000 after acquiring an additional 187,144 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total value of $229,705.00. Following the sale, the director owned 28,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. The trade was a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF opened at $65.31 on Thursday. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.09 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.49. The company has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.08 and a beta of 1.27.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 5.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from First American Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FAF. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

About First American Financial

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.