Santa Ana-based First American Financial Corp. fell short of analyst expectations in the third quarter.
The title insurance company posted third-quarter net income of $21 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, down from 31 cents a year earlier.
The analyst consensus was 32 cents per share.
The company’s revenue totaled $965 million in the third quarter, down 4% from the year-ago period when it saw $1 billion.
Fewer title orders hurt the company, which saw 344,500 orders open, down from 418,900 a year earlier. First American closed 226,600 title orders in the quarter, compared with 276,700 a year earlier.
The company’s title insurance and specialty insurance segments combined for $112.2 million in provisions for policy losses and other claims, up 30% from the same quarter last year.
Accounting for the gap were a $13 million cushion for a pending lawsuit with Bank of America and a $14.7 million increase in claim-loss reserves for prior policy years.
Analysts expect First American to earn 25 cents per share in the fourth quarter and 72 cents for the full year.
