First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Now Covered by Analysts at William Blair

William Blair started coverage on shares of First Advantage (NYSE:FA) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating on the stock. William Blair also issued estimates for First Advantage’s Q1 2024 earnings at $0.15 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.19 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.24 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.27 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $0.83 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $0.94 EPS.

FA has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of First Advantage from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of First Advantage from $16.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $18.00.

First Advantage Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FA opened at $16.41 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 4.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. First Advantage has a 12 month low of $12.10 and a 12 month high of $17.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.64, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.21.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $202.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.05 million. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 4.88%. As a group, analysts predict that First Advantage will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Advantage

In related news, insider Joseph K. Jaeger sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $339,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 696,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,802,251.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Advantage

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of First Advantage during the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of First Advantage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $179,000. Andina Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Advantage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $271,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of First Advantage by 14.6% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 17,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Advantage by 46.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 6,270 shares during the last quarter. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Advantage Company Profile

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.