First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.33.

FA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of First Advantage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of First Advantage from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of First Advantage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th.

First Advantage Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of FA stock traded down $0.90 on Friday, hitting $19.18. 1,326,414 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,540,978. The company has a current ratio of 3.85, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 639.33 and a beta of 1.12. First Advantage has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $25.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.26 and a 200 day moving average of $17.71.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Advantage

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Advantage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,748,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in First Advantage during the second quarter worth about $63,214,000. Sunriver Management LLC raised its holdings in First Advantage by 14.0% during the first quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 3,032,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,665,000 after acquiring an additional 371,425 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP acquired a new position in First Advantage during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,533,000. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its position in First Advantage by 22.8% during the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 728,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,565,000 after purchasing an additional 135,418 shares during the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Advantage Company Profile

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.