First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $60.97, but opened at $59.48. First American Financial shares last traded at $61.80, with a volume of 42,394 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

First American Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 48.80 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.05.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. Equities research analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 172.80%.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at $12,586,795.36. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FAF. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in First American Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 84,344 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

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.