1,298,855 Shares in First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) Purchased by Cortland Associates Inc. MO

Cortland Associates Inc. MO purchased a new position in First Advantage Co. (NYSE:FA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,298,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,328,000. First Advantage comprises about 2.8% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO owned 0.75% of First Advantage at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FA. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in First Advantage by 49.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in First Advantage during the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First Advantage during the second quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Advantage in the third quarter worth $250,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in First Advantage during the fourth quarter valued at $257,000. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Advantage Stock Performance

NYSE:FA opened at $18.64 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.81 and its 200 day moving average is $18.55. First Advantage Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.01 and a fifty-two week high of $20.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 621.33 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 3.85 and a current ratio of 3.85.

First Advantage (NYSE:FA) last released its earnings results 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. First Advantage had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 0.65%. The business had revenue of $199.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Advantage Co. will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded First Advantage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of First Advantage in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.