Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 176,915 Shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) by 261.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 244,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 176,915 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $11,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 8.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 629,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,975,000 after buying an additional 47,267 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 141.9% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 8,494 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Fidelity National Financial by 2.0% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 820,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,979,000 after purchasing an additional 16,440 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.4% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 81.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of Fidelity National Financial stock opened at $52.09 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.65 and a 200 day moving average of $49.97. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.78 and a 52 week high of $61.40. The company has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The business’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is presently 75.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fidelity National Financial

In related news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.70, for a total transaction of $3,162,257.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,702 shares in the company, valued at $260,581.40. The trade was a 92.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FNF shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $51.00 price target on Fidelity National Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Fidelity National Financial Profile

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE: FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. The company underwrites title insurance policies that protect property owners and lenders against title defects, liens, and other encumbrances. Alongside its core title insurance operations, FNF offers escrow and closing services, e-recording solutions, and real estate data and analytics through a network of agents and underwriters.

FNF operates through two primary segments: Title Insurance and Specialty Insurance and Services.