Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 30.1% in the first quarter, buying nearly 974,000 additional shares and ending with 4.21 million shares valued at about $195.3 million.
• FNF reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.93 versus the $1.09 estimate and revenue of $3.23 billion below forecasts, even though revenue rose 18.2% year over year.
• The company paid a $0.52 quarterly dividend, implying a 4.0% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock around Hold with an average price target of $56.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF - Free Report) by 30.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,210,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 973,891 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.56% of Fidelity National Financial worth $195,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,585,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 342,784.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 150,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,976,000 after acquiring an additional 150,825 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $1,439,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in Fidelity National Financial by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,664,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,859,000 after acquiring an additional 136,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the fourth quarter worth $36,362,000. Institutional investors own 81.17% of the company's stock.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FNF opened at $51.64 on Friday. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.78 and a 52 week high of $61.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $48.36 and a 200 day moving average of $50.08. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 15.49% and a net margin of 5.10%.The company's revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Fidelity National Financial's payout ratio is 75.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FNF shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. National Bank Financial set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 5,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $260,581.40. This represents a 92.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Fidelity National Financial

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.

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