Trexquant Investment LP Grows Stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in First American Financial Co. (NYSE:FAF - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 31,315 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.10% of First American Financial worth $6,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in First American Financial by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 524 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in First American Financial by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in First American Financial by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in First American Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of 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 worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of First American Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Stephens raised their price objective 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.

First American Financial Price Performance

FAF stock traded down $1.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $59.99. 414,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,075. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.15. First American Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $70.92.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.22. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 9.35%. On average, analysts forecast that First American Financial Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

First American Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. First American Financial's dividend payout ratio is 172.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Edward Seaton sold 12,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.28, for a total value of $815,006.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 195,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,586,795.36. This represents a 6.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the director now owns 494,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,454,906.40. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 127,707 shares of company stock worth $8,136,565 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% 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.