Analysts Set First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Target Price at $58.83

Shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.29.

FA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of First Advantage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company.

First Advantage Trading Down 1.0 %

FA stock opened at $19.34 on Monday. 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 one year low of $14.01 and a one year high of $20.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 644.67 and a beta of 1.17.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that First Advantage will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Advantage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 29,752 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Advantage by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,294,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,692,000 after buying an additional 9,718 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of First Advantage by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,253,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,874,000 after buying an additional 72,400 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Advantage by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,017,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,192,000 after buying an additional 214,134 shares during the period. Finally, Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the 3rd quarter worth about $434,000. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.