First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.75.

FA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of First Advantage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of First Advantage from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on First Advantage from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th.

Institutional Trading of First Advantage

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FA. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 724.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,256,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,311,000 after buying an additional 4,618,946 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in First Advantage by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,098,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,204,000 after acquiring an additional 780,200 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in First Advantage by 8,338.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 777,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,294,000 after acquiring an additional 768,064 shares in the last quarter. Sunriver Management LLC raised its position in First Advantage by 46.1% in the third quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 2,350,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,176,000 after acquiring an additional 741,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cat Rock Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in First Advantage by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cat Rock Capital Management LP now owns 3,068,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,222,000 after acquiring an additional 702,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.91% of the company’s stock.

First Advantage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FA opened at $11.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 381.33 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.41. First Advantage has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $19.01. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.04. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 36.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. First Advantage has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.150-1.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that First Advantage will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

About First Advantage

First Advantage is a global provider of background screening, identity verification and workforce risk management solutions. The company delivers a comprehensive suite of services that help employers verify candidate credentials, manage regulatory compliance and mitigate risk throughout the employee lifecycle. Its platform is built to integrate with leading human capital management and applicant tracking systems, enabling a seamless and scalable experience for organizations of all sizes.

The company’s core offerings include pre-employment and continuous background screening, digital identity verification, drug and health testing, and ongoing employee monitoring.