Short Interest in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) Grows By 9.4%

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the June 30th total of 1,060,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 564,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF opened at $60.58 on Thursday. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $49.55 and a fifty-two week high of $65.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50-day moving average is $55.01 and its 200 day moving average is $56.85.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.14. First American Financial had a net margin of 3.28% and a return on equity of 7.98%. 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 prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that First American Financial will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First American Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 34,444 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 7.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First American Financial by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,567,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $645,118,000 after buying an additional 431,089 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in First American Financial by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,340,491 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,836,000 after buying an additional 111,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,969,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.25.

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.