Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys New Shares in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,447,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in First American Financial by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,204 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in First American Financial by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 23,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 4,147 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 42,777 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 42,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,634,000 after acquiring an additional 6,935 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $1,324,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of FAF opened at $57.79 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.17 and its 200-day moving average is $60.92. First American Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $53.09 and a 12 month high of $70.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27 and a beta of 1.24.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 9th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 143.05%.

First American Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First American Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.50.

First American Financial Profile

First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Home Warranty segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services internationally.