Versor Investments LP Makes New $254,000 Investment in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,063 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First American Financial by 132.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in First American Financial in the third quarter worth about $87,000. 89.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Lisa W. Cornehl sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $200,202.93. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,560,299.25. This represents a 11.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FAF opened at $65.00 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.26. First American Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.60 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.00 and a beta of 1.33.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. On average, analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 172.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FAF has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens lifted their price target on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.50.

First American Financial 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.