MWA Asset Management Invests $1.61 Million in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

MWA Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 34,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,606,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.70, for a total value of $3,162,257.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,702 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on FNF shares. National Bank Financial set a $51.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Fidelity National Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of FNF opened at $50.22 on Thursday. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.78 and a 1-year high of $61.40. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.11. The stock has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.96.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.91%.

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.