Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FNF. Stephens assumed coverage on Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. National Bankshares set a $63.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.25.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of FNF stock opened at $52.88 on Friday. Fidelity National Financial has a 1 year low of $50.61 and a 1 year high of $66.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The firm had revenue of $4.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial will post 6.28 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This is a boost from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fidelity National Financial

In other news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total value of $335,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $737,097.40. This represents a 31.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total transaction of $366,930.21. Following the sale, the director owned 276,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,923,630.04. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FNF. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 18,905,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,143,569,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,900 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the second quarter worth $189,685,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 167.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,741,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,792,000 after buying an additional 2,970,460 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 252.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,379,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $189,458,000 after buying an additional 2,420,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 75.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,057,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $304,503,000 after buying an additional 2,174,220 shares during the last quarter. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.