Brokerages Set First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Target Price at $53.29

Shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.29.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of First Advantage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

First Advantage Trading Up 0.6 %

FA opened at $18.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 3.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 625.00 and a beta of 1.17. First Advantage has a 1-year low of $14.01 and a 1-year high of $20.79.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $199.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.39 million. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 0.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Analysts expect that First Advantage will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Advantage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in First Advantage by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 78,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 5,104 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Advantage by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 432,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,099,000 after acquiring an additional 98,500 shares during the period. Cortland Associates Inc. MO acquired a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the 4th quarter worth $24,328,000. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the fourth quarter valued at about $257,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of First Advantage by 57.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 81,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,621,000 after acquiring an additional 29,752 shares during the period. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.