First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Benchmark

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) was upgraded by investment analysts at Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on FAF. Zacks Research cut First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $87.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.20.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE FAF opened at $70.43 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.85. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $56.20 and a fifty-two week high of $73.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.23.

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 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $468,011.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,854.16. This represents a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in First American Financial by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 26,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 1.9% in the second quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,553,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,537,000 after purchasing an additional 28,534 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the second quarter worth $16,714,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 9.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,696 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in First American Financial by 12.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting First American Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting First American Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FAF beat Q2 expectations, posting adjusted EPS of $2.08 versus the $1.80 consensus, and revenue of $2.11 billion versus estimates of $2.03 billion, which points to solid underlying operating performance. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent analyst updates nudged near- and medium-term earnings estimates slightly higher, suggesting some confidence in FAF’s earnings trajectory. Reference
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research maintained a “Hold” rating, indicating analysts see the stock as fairly valued rather than a clear buy at current levels. Reference
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, the stock has been pressured as investors may be taking profits or weighing whether the improvement is enough to justify a further re-rating after the recent run-up. Article Title

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.