First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Price Target Raised to $72.00 at Barclays

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

FAF has been the subject of several other research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.50.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded down $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.28. The stock had a trading volume of 550,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,628. First American Financial has a 52 week low of $49.55 and a 52 week high of $67.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.71 and its 200 day moving average is $59.08. The stock has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28 and a beta of 1.29.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.19. First American Financial had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. First American Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that First American Financial will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from First American Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. First American Financial’s payout ratio is presently 103.35%.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stephenson & Company Inc. bought a new position in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $227,000. Trajan Wealth LLC bought a new stake in First American Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 40,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,682,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gemmer Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $123,000. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

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.