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

First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.29.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FA shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of First Advantage from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company.

First Advantage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FA opened at $17.46 on Friday. First Advantage has a twelve month low of $14.01 and a twelve month high of $20.79. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 582.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.71 and a 200 day moving average of $18.29. The company has a quick ratio of 3.85, a current ratio of 3.85 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 net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The company had revenue of $199.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that First Advantage will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Advantage

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First Advantage by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 81,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 29,752 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $25,692,000 after buying an additional 9,718 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of First Advantage by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,253,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,874,000 after buying an additional 72,400 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Advantage by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,017,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,192,000 after buying an additional 214,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Advantage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.91% of the company’s stock.

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.