Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.50.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reduced their price target 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. National Bank Financial set a $50.00 price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research cut 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 reduced their price target 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.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Fidelity National Financial stock opened at $47.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.56 and a 200-day moving average of $50.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.96. Fidelity National Financial has a 1-year low of $42.78 and a 1-year high of $61.40.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 15.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.91%.

Insider Activity at Fidelity National Financial

In other news, EVP Peter T. 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. 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.