First Advantage’s (FA) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

First Advantage (NYSE:FA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.53% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of First Advantage from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of First Advantage in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of First Advantage in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Advantage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.29.

First Advantage Stock Down 0.0 %

First Advantage stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $18.56. 156,532 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 521,427. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 619.70 and a beta of 1.17. First Advantage has a fifty-two week low of $14.01 and a fifty-two week high of $20.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $18.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.46. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $199.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.39 million. First Advantage had a net margin of 0.65% and a return on equity of 13.16%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that First Advantage will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 254,219 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in First Advantage by 57.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 81,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,621,000 after acquiring an additional 29,752 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in First Advantage during the 3rd quarter worth $676,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of First Advantage by 50.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,600,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Advantage by 27.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 126,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 27,237 shares during the period. 94.91% of the stock is 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.