First Advantage (NYSE:FA) Research Coverage Started at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of First Advantage (NYSE:FA) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock.

FA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on First Advantage in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of First Advantage from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

First Advantage Price Performance

First Advantage stock opened at $19.34 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.96 and its 200 day moving average is $18.02. First Advantage has a one year low of $14.01 and a one year high of $20.79. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 644.67 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 3.85 and a quick ratio of 3.85.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FA. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of First Advantage by 49.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in First Advantage during the second quarter worth about $209,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Advantage in the 2nd quarter worth about $211,000. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in First Advantage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Advantage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $250,000. 94.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.