First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $69.18 and last traded at $69.00, with a volume of 22426 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $67.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on First American Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.50.

First American Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.92 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.47.

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

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 242.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FAF. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,669 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,442 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,700,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $112,306,000 after purchasing an additional 12,668 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in First American Financial by 15.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 8,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 10.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

About First American Financial

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.