First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) hit 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 trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FAF shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of First American Financial from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their target price 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 upped their price target on First American Financial from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First American Financial from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.50.

First American Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.92 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.47.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid 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 yield of 3.11%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 242.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in First American Financial by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,426,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,977,000 after acquiring an additional 86,330 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial in the second quarter worth $1,191,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the first quarter valued at $812,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in First American Financial by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 149,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,067,000 after buying an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in First American Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $243,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.