Brokerages Set First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Price Target at $66.75

Shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $66.75.

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on First American Financial from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in First American Financial by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,551 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First American Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $76,210,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in First American Financial by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $64.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.07. First American Financial has a 12-month low of $49.55 and a 12-month high of $67.88. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 1.29.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.14. First American Financial had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 3.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. First American Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a positive change from First American Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 103.35%.

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.