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

Shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

FNF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Monday, August 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $54.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Peter Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,702 shares in the company, valued at $260,581.40. This trade represents a 92.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FNF. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Markowski Investments bought a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. 81.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FNF opened at $42.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.34 and a 200-day moving average of $48.20. Fidelity National Financial has a 52 week low of $42.32 and a 52 week high of $60.74. The company has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.93.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fidelity National Financial will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.50%.

Fidelity National Financial Company Profile

Fidelity National Financial, Inc (NYSE:FNF) is a provider of title insurance, escrow and settlement services, and other title-related products in the United States. Through its Fidelity National Title Group businesses, the company helps protect property buyers, lenders and other parties against losses arising from defects in real estate titles and supports the closing of residential and commercial property transactions.

FNF’s title operations include well-known brands such as Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title and Alamo Title.