First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Shares of First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $20.17 and last traded at $20.17, with a volume of 10010 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on First Advantage from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wolfe Research lowered First Advantage from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $250.00 to $249.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.25.

First Advantage Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.59 and a beta of 1.16.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21. First Advantage had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.94%. The business had revenue of $184.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Advantage Co. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,777,481 shares of the company's stock worth $93,711,000 after purchasing an additional 496,898 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Advantage by 8.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,131,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,314,000 after buying an additional 254,219 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 155.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,713,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,473 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Advantage during the second quarter worth about $12,906,000. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 607,972 shares of the company's stock worth $9,770,000 after acquiring an additional 4,950 shares during the period. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.