Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $56.00.

FNF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. National Bank Financial set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays raised 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 research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 11th.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FNF opened at $51.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.98. Fidelity National Financial has a 52 week low of $42.78 and a 52 week high of $61.40. 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 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 business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.10%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is currently 75.91%.

Insider Activity at Fidelity National Financial

In related news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.70, for a total value of $3,162,257.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,581.40. This trade represents a 92.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 711,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,578,000 after purchasing an additional 134,228 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $412,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,047,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Fidelity National Financial by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 24.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Fidelity National Financial Company 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.