Royal Bank of Canada Buys 35,315 Shares of First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 66.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 88,582 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,315 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $5,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FAF. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,608,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in First American Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $6,713,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $63,693,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 79,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 35,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in First American Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $71,680,000. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In related news, CAO Steven A. Adams sold 3,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total transaction of $243,942.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 10,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,447.66. This trade represents a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on shares of First American Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First American Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.60.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $72.36 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.26. First American Financial Corporation has a one year low of $56.20 and a one year high of $79.87. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.22.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. First American Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 9.33%.The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation is a leading provider of title insurance, settlement services and diversified real estate-related data and analytics. Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, the company serves customers throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Its business is built on the underwriting capabilities of its title insurance operations combined with comprehensive closing and escrow services for homebuyers, sellers, mortgage lenders and real estate professionals.

The company’s title insurance segment issues policies that protect property owners and mortgage lenders against defects in titles, liens or encumbrances that can arise during real property transactions.