First Advantage's (FA) "Outperform" Rating Reiterated at William Blair

First Advantage (NYSE:FA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by equities researchers at William Blair in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,RTT News reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research lowered shares of First Advantage from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Advantage currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.29.

First Advantage Stock Up 0.8 %

First Advantage stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 800,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 553,819. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 3.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 666.33 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $18.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.97. First Advantage has a 52-week low of $14.01 and a 52-week high of $20.79.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $199.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.39 million. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. First Advantage's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Advantage will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Advantage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in First Advantage by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,600,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,161,000 after buying an additional 1,886,716 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Advantage in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,906,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Advantage in the third quarter worth approximately $6,628,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Advantage by 8.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,131,188 shares of the company's stock worth $50,314,000 after purchasing an additional 254,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in First Advantage by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,253,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,874,000 after purchasing an additional 72,400 shares during the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Advantage

First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products.