Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 98,500 Shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 432,387 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 98,500 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in First Advantage were worth $8,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FA. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Advantage during the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in First Advantage during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in First Advantage during the second quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Advantage in the third quarter worth $298,000. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FA. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of First Advantage in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of First Advantage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

First Advantage Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of First Advantage stock opened at $19.32 on Thursday. First Advantage Co. has a twelve month low of $14.01 and a twelve month high of $20.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.85, a current ratio of 3.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.77 and its 200 day moving average is $18.65. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 644.00 and a beta of 1.17.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 0.65%. The firm had revenue of $199.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that First Advantage Co. will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

First Advantage Profile

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.