First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Sets New 52-Week High at $17.57

First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.57 and last traded at $17.48, with a volume of 16595 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair began coverage on shares of First Advantage in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of First Advantage from $250.00 to $249.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Monday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Advantage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.25.

First Advantage Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.32. The company has a current ratio of 4.29, a quick ratio of 4.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.14.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. First Advantage had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 14.12%. The business had revenue of $184.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that First Advantage Co. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James Lindsey Clark sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.48, for a total transaction of $32,508.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 42,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $664,509.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Advantage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in First Advantage during the fourth quarter worth about $179,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of First Advantage during the second quarter worth approximately $209,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the second quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of First Advantage by 16.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 2,163 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of First Advantage by 38.3% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 4,414 shares during the period. 94.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.