Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Stock Price

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Barclays from $83.00 to $79.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.78% from the stock’s previous close.

FAF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark began coverage on First American Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.80.

First American Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $62.31 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.29 and a 200-day moving average of $68.38. The company has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial 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 the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Steven Adams sold 3,253 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of First American Financial by 5.8% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,601 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in First American Financial by 53.9% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 4,111 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in First American Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,000. Paragon Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in First American Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $242,000. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF) provides title insurance, settlement services and related real estate transaction solutions. Through its title insurance operations, the company protects property buyers, lenders and other parties against certain losses arising from defects in title, liens and other issues affecting ownership or mortgage interests.

The company also offers escrow and closing services, title search and examination, property information, valuation, mortgage subservicing and other technology-enabled solutions for the real estate and mortgage industries.