Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.00.

FNF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Barclays reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. National Bankshares set a $64.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Thursday, November 13th.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE FNF opened at $57.76 on Wednesday. Fidelity National Financial has a fifty-two week low of $50.61 and a fifty-two week high of $66.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.24 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.22.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 14.30%. On average, analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial will post 6.28 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total transaction of $366,930.21. Following the sale, the director owned 276,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,923,630.04. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 43,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,629,000 after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $405,000. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its position in Fidelity National Financial by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 18,905,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,143,569,000 after acquiring an additional 4,477,900 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,469,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $572,782,000 after purchasing an additional 31,318 shares during the period. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in Fidelity National Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $347,000. Institutional investors 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.