Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 8,415 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 23.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,945 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,415 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $1,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 616.4% in the 1st quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 437 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 1,107.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in First American Financial by 568.8% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 749 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on FAF. Wall Street Zen cut First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on First American Financial from $87.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.00.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,024 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,854.16. The trade was a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $399,632.49. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of FAF opened at $73.07 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.97 and its 200-day moving average is $65.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.23. First American Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.78 and a fifty-two week high of $73.50.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. First American Financial’s revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.79%.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.