First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Stock Price Down 4.7% – What’s Next?

First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) shares traded down 4.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $18.83 and last traded at $18.85. 433,550 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 421,415 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of First Advantage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped 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, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on First Advantage from $250.00 to $249.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Advantage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.25.

First Advantage Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 85.36 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 4.31.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. The business had revenue of $184.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.66 million. First Advantage had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Advantage Co. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Advantage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,713,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,473 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Advantage during the second quarter worth approximately $12,906,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,777,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,711,000 after acquiring an additional 496,898 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First Advantage by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,131,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,314,000 after purchasing an additional 254,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its stake in First Advantage by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 603,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,781,000 after purchasing an additional 119,100 shares during the period. 94.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.