Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Hold” Rating for First Advantage (NYSE:FA)

First Advantage (NYSE:FA)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

FA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target on First Advantage from $250.00 to $249.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered First Advantage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on First Advantage from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.25.

First Advantage Stock Performance

NYSE FA opened at $17.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 600.67 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.61. First Advantage has a 12-month low of $13.79 and a 12-month high of $20.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.31, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.01. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 0.65%. The firm had revenue of $199.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. First Advantage’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that First Advantage will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Advantage

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FA. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of First Advantage by 49.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of First Advantage during the 2nd quarter worth $209,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Advantage during the second quarter worth $211,000. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Advantage during the second quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the third quarter valued at $250,000. 94.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Advantage Company Profile

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.