Aigen Investment Management LP Raises Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 96,627 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,033,000 after purchasing an additional 29,324 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 60,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 8,047 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,180,000 after purchasing an additional 10,489 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $1,476,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First American Financial by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,700,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $112,306,000 after acquiring an additional 12,668 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of First American Financial stock opened at $63.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 51.12 and a beta of 1.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.29. First American Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $51.60 and a 12 month high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 172.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total transaction of $815,006.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.60, for a total value of $7,121,355.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FAF. Stephens upped their target price on First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First American Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.50.

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.