Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 815 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of First American Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 62,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,066,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 28,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 4,736 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,629,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $624,215,000 after acquiring an additional 303,214 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 67,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,531,000 after acquiring an additional 8,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF stock opened at $55.25 on Friday. First American Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $49.55 and a 1-year high of $65.54. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.16.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.06). First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 3.61%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First American Financial Co. will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet downgraded First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

First American Financial 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.