Norges Bank Purchases New Holdings in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,220,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $75,011,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% during 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. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in First American Financial by 194.5% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $212,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183,960 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First American Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,693,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in First American Financial by 8.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $393,690,000 after purchasing an additional 500,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in First American Financial by 163.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 467,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,053,000 after purchasing an additional 290,310 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

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

First American Financial Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:FAF opened at $66.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.60. First American Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.09 and a 1-year high of $71.47.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on FAF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stephens lifted their target price on First American Financial from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.50.

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.