Quadrature Capital Ltd Grows Stock Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 56.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,232 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

First American Financial stock opened at $53.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 1.28. First American Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $49.55 and a 52 week high of $65.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.28.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. First American Financial’s payout ratio is currently 101.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FAF. TheStreet cut First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.75.

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.