Legato Capital Management LLC Acquires New Shares in First American Financial Corporation $FAF

Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $735,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 8.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,133,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $393,690,000 after buying an additional 500,649 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 4,485,375.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,786,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $355,508,000 after buying an additional 5,786,134 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,293,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $275,816,000 after buying an additional 168,706 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 194.5% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,306,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $212,415,000 after buying an additional 2,183,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 16.9% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,547,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $99,430,000 after buying an additional 224,277 shares during the last quarter. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First American Financial Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE FAF opened at $68.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.41. First American Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $53.09 and a 52 week high of $71.47. The company has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.27. First American Financial had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 8.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that First American Financial Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 5,823 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $399,632.49. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,850.05. This trade represents a 16.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 6,630 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $468,011.70. Following the sale, the director owned 24,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,854.16. This represents a 21.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on FAF. Stephens increased their target price on First American Financial from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised First American Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded First American Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on First American Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.50.

First American Financial 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.