First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.29.

Several analysts recently weighed in on FA shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of First Advantage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on First Advantage in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday.

First Advantage Stock Performance

NYSE FA opened at $19.34 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 644.67 and a beta of 1.17. First Advantage has a 1-year low of $14.01 and a 1-year high of $20.79. 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 50-day moving average of $18.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.02.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $199.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.39 million. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 0.65%. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Advantage will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Advantage

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of First Advantage by 16.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Advantage during the second quarter worth about $378,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in First Advantage by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 258,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Advantage by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 607,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,770,000 after purchasing an additional 4,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in First Advantage by 38.3% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 4,414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.91% of the company’s stock.

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.