Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $42.52 and last traded at $42.69, with a volume of 1423520 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. National Bank Financial set a $54.00 price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fidelity National Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Up 0.2%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.24. The company has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.08. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 5.03%.The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fidelity National Financial

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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $260,581.40. This represents a 92.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 28.3% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 43,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 9,687 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 314.2% in the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 112,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,291,000 after acquiring an additional 85,106 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 44.7% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 13,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 4,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 96.8% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 81,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,824,000 after acquiring an additional 39,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

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.