Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.08, FiscalAI reports. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 5.03%.The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

FNF traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,844,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,754,044. The company has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.99 and a 200 day moving average of $49.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. Fidelity National Financial has a 1 year low of $42.78 and a 1 year high of $61.40.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is presently 75.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FNF shares. National Bank Financial set a $54.00 price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Friday. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fidelity National Financial news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of Fidelity National Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FNF. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 31.0% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 18,905,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,143,569,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,900 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,469,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $572,782,000 after buying an additional 31,318 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,353,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $510,634,000 after buying an additional 193,629 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,800,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,250,000 after buying an additional 1,743,342 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 368.3% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,770,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

About Fidelity National Financial

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.