Stephens Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for First American Financial (NYSE:FAF)

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $66.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock. Stephens’ target price suggests a potential upside of 14.44% from the company’s previous close.

FAF has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lowered their target price on First American Financial from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.75.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FAF traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.67. 638,918 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,456. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.95. First American Financial has a twelve month low of $49.55 and a twelve month high of $65.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60 and a beta of 1.28.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.14. First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that First American Financial will post 3.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First American Financial by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 196,081 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,635,000 after purchasing an additional 34,444 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in First American Financial by 7.3% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 187,285 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,434,000 after buying an additional 12,720 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,340,491 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $81,836,000 after buying an additional 111,197 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,969,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 308,139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,856,000 after buying an additional 30,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

About First American Financial

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.