First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Stake Lessened by Emerald Advisers LLC

Emerald Advisers LLC cut its stake in First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,153,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,822 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.67% of First Advantage worth $21,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,425,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,076,000 after acquiring an additional 2,409,233 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in First Advantage by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,600,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,161,000 after buying an additional 1,886,716 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in First Advantage by 337.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,584,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,129,000 after buying an additional 2,764,534 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in First Advantage by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,205,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,253,000 after buying an additional 50,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cortland Associates Inc. MO bought a new stake in First Advantage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,328,000. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Advantage Stock Down 3.2 %

FA stock opened at $13.51 on Friday. First Advantage Co. has a 12-month low of $12.55 and a 12-month high of $20.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.85, a current ratio of 3.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 450.33 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FA shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of First Advantage from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of First Advantage from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of First Advantage in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Advantage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.67.

First Advantage Company Profile

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.