Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens boosted their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fidelity National Financial presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $55.40.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FNF opened at $51.32 on Tuesday. Fidelity National Financial has a 12-month low of $36.55 and a 12-month high of $53.96. The stock has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.14 and a 200-day moving average of $50.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 6.55%. The company’s revenue was up 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fidelity National Financial

In other Fidelity National Financial news, CFO Anthony Park sold 85,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.82, for a total value of $4,319,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at $5,033,670.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Anthony Park sold 85,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.82, for a total transaction of $4,319,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at $5,033,670.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.64, for a total value of $151,920.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $754,839.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 122.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,203 shares during the period. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 0.9% during the second quarter. Eastover Investment Advisors LLC now owns 129,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $391,000. DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 15.9% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 41,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,073,000 after purchasing an additional 5,750 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 24.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 524 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, together with its subsidiaries, provides various insurance products in the United States. The company operates through Title, F&G, and Corporate and Other segments. It offers title insurance, escrow, and other title related services, including trust activities, trustee sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances, and home warranty products.