Prospector Partners LLC Acquires New Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Prospector Partners LLC bought a new position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 43,295 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,790,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in First American Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 44,007 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,486,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First American Financial by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in First American Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 117,044 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,612,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First American Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 55,462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,133,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in First American Financial by 2.0% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 18,353 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.47. 217,656 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 670,182. The stock has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.60 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.76. First American Financial Co. has a one year low of $49.55 and a one year high of $65.54.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.22). First American Financial had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 3.97 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FAF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.75.

First American Financial Company Profile

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.