Man Group plc Buys Shares of 39,982 First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 39,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,742,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,608,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $6,713,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,693,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $71,680,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 79,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after buying an additional 35,650 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In other news, CAO Steven A. Adams sold 3,253 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $243,942.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $767,447.66. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.6%

FAF stock opened at $74.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.02. First American Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.20 and a 52 week high of $79.87.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.28. First American Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 9.33%.The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that First American Financial Corporation will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FAF. Zacks Research cut shares of First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on First American Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.60.

About First American Financial

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.