Heartland Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 74.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 105,095 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $2,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 2,887.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in First American Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of FAF opened at $67.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.70. First American Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.09 and a 52 week high of $68.75.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.50. First American Financial had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 8.34%.The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Barclays upped their price target on First American Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.67.

First American Financial Profile

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.