First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Updates FY 2025 Earnings Guidance

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.980-1.020 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.910. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.5 billion-$1.6 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.5 billion.

First Advantage Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:FA opened at $12.93 on Thursday. First Advantage has a one year low of $12.25 and a one year high of $20.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 3.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 431.00 and a beta of 1.19.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. First Advantage’s revenue was up 111.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that First Advantage will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Advantage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Advantage news, President Joelle M. Smith sold 9,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total transaction of $155,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 42,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,813.90. This represents a 18.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Advantage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in First Advantage by 724.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,256,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,311,000 after buying an additional 4,618,946 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of First Advantage by 9.0% in the second quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,704,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,304,000 after purchasing an additional 141,212 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of First Advantage by 39.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 775,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,876,000 after purchasing an additional 218,698 shares in the last quarter. Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Advantage by 7.0% in the second quarter. Onex Canada Asset Management Inc. now owns 531,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,823,000 after purchasing an additional 34,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the second quarter worth $7,107,000. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.