First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Short Interest Up 24.0% in December

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, an increase of 24.0% from the November 30th total of 1,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $62.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 55,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,958. The company has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.85 and a beta of 1.30. First American Financial has a 52-week low of $51.60 and a 52-week high of $70.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.39.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 1.58%. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is currently 242.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in First American Financial by 23.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,914 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First American Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $194,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in First American Financial by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 303.2% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,797 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 11,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC grew its stake in First American Financial by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 8,218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FAF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Stephens increased their price target on First American Financial from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on First American Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.50.

First American Financial Company Profile

First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Home Warranty segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services internationally.