First American Financial Corporation (FAF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.55 on October 5th

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 28th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share by the insurance provider on Monday, October 5th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 28th.

First American Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. First American Financial has a payout ratio of 39.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First American Financial to earn $7.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $66.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.48. First American Financial has a 12-month low of $56.20 and a 12-month high of $79.87. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.21.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In other news, CAO Steven Adams sold 3,253 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total value of $243,942.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $767,447.66. This represents a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First American Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $71,680,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the second quarter valued at about $643,570,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its stake in First American Financial by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,553,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,537,000 after purchasing an additional 28,534 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the second quarter worth $4,588,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in First American Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $57,413,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF) provides title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions. Through its title insurance operations, the company protects property buyers, lenders and other parties against certain losses arising from defects in ownership records, liens and other title-related issues.

The company also offers escrow and closing services, real estate data and analytics, valuation products, and technology solutions designed to support mortgage lenders, real estate professionals, homebuilders and commercial property participants.