Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases New Holdings in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,259 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $453,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First American Financial by 132.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in First American Financial by 340.8% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 864 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in First American Financial by 214.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of First American Financial by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First American Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FAF shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on First American Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on First American Financial from $80.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on First American Financial from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

First American Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of FAF stock opened at $61.37 on Friday. First American Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $51.60 and a 12-month high of $70.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 68.95 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.22.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. First American Financial had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 1.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that First American Financial Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 242.70%.

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.