Lakewood Capital Management LP Invests $50.48 Million in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Lakewood Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 735,904 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,476,000. First American Financial comprises approximately 2.6% of Lakewood Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Lakewood Capital Management LP owned 0.72% of First American Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $1,608,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $6,713,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $63,693,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 79,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,876,000 after purchasing an additional 35,650 shares during the period. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in First American Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,680,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First American Financial from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays upped their target price on First American Financial from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research lowered First American Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First American Financial in a report on Monday, July 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First American Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at First American Financial

In other news, CAO Steven A. Adams sold 3,253 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.99, for a total transaction of $243,942.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,447.66. The trade was a 24.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF stock opened at $72.27 on Tuesday. First American Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.20 and a 12 month high of $79.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.57 and its 200 day moving average is $67.75. The company has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.22.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 9.33% and a return on equity of 13.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Corporation will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Company Profile

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.