Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, a decline of 9.6% from the June 30th total of 3,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 998,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FNF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on 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. StockNews.com downgraded Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens raised their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fidelity National Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.40.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

FNF traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $54.98. 337,278 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,312,992. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.73. Fidelity National Financial has a 52-week low of $37.10 and a 52-week high of $56.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60 and a beta of 1.35.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share 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 net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 14.24%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Anthony Park sold 85,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,033,670.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FNF. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 109.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. 81.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.