Channing Capital Management LLC Takes $8.37 Million Position in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 129,804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,365,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. Bar Harbor Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,673,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 119.2% during the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 56,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 30,664 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,563,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First American Financial during the third quarter worth about $3,988,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of First American Financial by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,169,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $178,994,000 after purchasing an additional 473,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $54.38. The company had a trading volume of 524,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 686,033. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $49.55 and a twelve month high of $65.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.37.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.22). First American Financial had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FAF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First American Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $69.00 in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TheStreet downgraded First American Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of First American Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.75.

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.