Barclays Boosts First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) Price Target to $72.00

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $69.00 to $72.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FAF. 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. StockNews.com upgraded First American Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First American Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FAF traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.17. The stock had a trading volume of 602,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,837. First American Financial has a 1-year low of $51.85 and a 1-year high of $70.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.70.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.19. First American Financial had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 2.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First American Financial will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of First American Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAF. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First American Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of First American Financial by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of First American Financial by 645.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.05% of the company's stock.

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.