Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of FAF Q1 Earnings

First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF) – Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for First American Financial in a research report issued on Tuesday, March 18th. Zacks Research analyst T. De now expects that the insurance provider will earn $1.11 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.18. The consensus estimate for First American Financial’s current full-year earnings is $5.35 per share.

FAF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First American Financial from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

First American Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FAF opened at $64.90 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.37. First American Financial has a fifty-two week low of $51.60 and a fifty-two week high of $70.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 51.92 and a beta of 1.34.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%.

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 66.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in First American Financial by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in First American Financial in the third quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in First American Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dennis J. Gilmore sold 111,971 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 494,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,454,906.40. This represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of First American Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 195,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. The trade was a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. First American Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 172.80%.

About First American Financial

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.