First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of First Advantage (NYSE:FA) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded First Advantage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on First Advantage from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on First Advantage from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Advantage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

First Advantage Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:FA opened at $18.73 on Tuesday. First Advantage has a twelve month low of $8.82 and a twelve month high of $25.15. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.41. The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 624.33 and a beta of 1.12.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. First Advantage has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.23-1.290 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First Advantage will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Advantage

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FA. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 8,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in First Advantage by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 145,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after buying an additional 39,297 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in First Advantage by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 208,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,761,000 after acquiring an additional 5,949 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in First Advantage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,503,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in First Advantage during the second quarter worth approximately $63,214,000. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation (NYSE: FA) is a global provider of employment background screening and workforce-management solutions. The company helps employers make informed hiring and onboarding decisions through services that may include criminal-record searches, identity verification, employment and education verification, professional-license checks, drug and health screening, and ongoing workforce monitoring.

Its technology platform is designed to support the hiring and compliance processes of organizations of varying sizes and across multiple industries.