Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Makes New $2.10 Million Investment in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 33,993 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in First American Financial by 121.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in First American Financial by 10.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 293,058 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,233,000 after acquiring an additional 28,666 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 7.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 414,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,600 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in First American Financial by 182.5% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 67,572 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,435,000 after acquiring an additional 43,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in First American Financial by 11.3% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In related news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,850.05. This represents a 16.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $468,011.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,695,854.16. The trade was a 21.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First American Financial Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE FAF opened at $66.47 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.66. The company has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $71.47.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 12.58%. First American Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.79%.

First American Financial Company Profile

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.