Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $51.29, but opened at $47.30. Fidelity National Financial shares last traded at $48.73, with a volume of 434,279 shares trading hands.

The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.16). Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The business had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Fidelity National Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FNF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $63.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $67.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $14,576,000. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,258,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,081,000 after purchasing an additional 574,189 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $3,585,000. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 257.8% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 26,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 19,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 745.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 22,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 20,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.41. The company has a market cap of $13.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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.