First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $71.80 and last traded at $71.3410, with a volume of 34486 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $70.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FAF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on First American Financial from $87.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.25.

First American Financial Stock Up 2.5%

The firm has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.12.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The company’s revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 29,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,854.16. This trade represents a 21.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 8.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,690,000 after acquiring an additional 500,649 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $355,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786,134 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in First American Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,636,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $279,529,000 after purchasing an additional 245,279 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in First American Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,415,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $209,868,000 after purchasing an additional 109,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First American Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,793,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $110,200,000 after purchasing an additional 19,752 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Company 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.