Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Fidelity National Financial has an average “Hold” rating from five brokerages, with three holds and two buys. The average 12-month price target is $56.00, compared with the stock’s recent price of $44.18.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.39 in EPS versus the $1.31 consensus estimate and $4.05 billion in revenue, up 11.4% year over year.
• FNF declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equal to $2.08 annually and a 4.7% yield. An executive also sold 69,196 shares, reducing his ownership by 92.39%.

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FNF shares. Zacks Research upgraded Fidelity National Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Monday, August 24th. National Bank Financial set a $54.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fidelity National Financial news, EVP Peter Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.0% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 11,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 11,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.17% of the company's stock.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FNF opened at $44.18 on Monday. Fidelity National Financial has a 1 year low of $42.78 and a 1 year high of $60.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.26 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company's 50-day moving average is $48.92 and its 200 day moving average is $48.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.93.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 16.07%. Fidelity National Financial's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Fidelity National Financial's payout ratio is presently 73.50%.

Fidelity National Financial Company Profile

Fidelity National Financial, Inc NYSE: FNF is a provider of title insurance, escrow and settlement services, and other title-related products in the United States. Through its Fidelity National Title Group businesses, the company helps protect property buyers, lenders and other parties against losses arising from defects in real estate titles and supports the closing of residential and commercial property transactions.

FNF's title operations include well-known brands such as Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title and Alamo Title.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.