Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Decreases Position in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lessened its stake in First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 98.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,440 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 323,900 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FAF. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in First American Financial by 2,887.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in First American Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other First American Financial news, Director Parker S. Kennedy acquired 44,841 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.85 per share, with a total value of $3,042,461.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 251,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,067,803.20. This represents a 21.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $60.21 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.53. First American Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.09 and a 12-month high of $71.47. The company has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.25.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.50. First American Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 11.92%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. First American Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on FAF shares. Stephens raised shares of First American Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of First American Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First American Financial from $79.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.50.

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.