First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $58.83.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on First Advantage in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on First Advantage from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Advantage

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FA. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 496,898 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 50.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,600,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,716 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew 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 worth $27,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Advantage by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,294,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,692,000 after purchasing an additional 9,718 shares in the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Advantage Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE FA opened at $18.25 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a current ratio of 3.85. First Advantage has a twelve month low of $13.88 and a twelve month high of $20.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 608.33 and a beta of 1.18.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. First Advantage’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that First Advantage will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

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.