First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Shares Down 8.3% on Disappointing Earnings

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) dropped 8.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $53.00 and last traded at $53.01. Approximately 231,537 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 686,556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.78.

The insurance provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. TheStreet lowered shares of 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 shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.75.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,210,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,169,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $178,994,000 after buying an additional 473,961 shares during the period. MKP Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth $25,776,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,229,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $79,216,000 after buying an additional 387,848 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 91.5% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 455,127 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,328,000 after buying an additional 217,496 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Trading Down 6.1 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $57.70 and its 200-day moving average is $58.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59 and a beta of 1.28.

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.