Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Lowers Stake in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Key Points

• Hedge fund Hudson Bay Capital Management LP cut its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 49.6% in Q3, selling 71,019 shares and leaving 72,233 shares valued at about $4.37 million.
• FNF missed EPS estimates in its latest quarter ($1.41 vs. $1.51) but beat on revenue ($4.05B, up 11.9% YoY), and announced a $0.52 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.08, ~4.8% yield) with a payout ratio near 97.7%.
• Analyst views are mixed—MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $68.33 target—while the stock recently traded around $43.28 (down 3.6%) with a market cap of $11.7B and a 12-month low of $42.78.

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF - Free Report) by 49.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 72,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 71,019 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP's holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $4,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FNF. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 11,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its position in Fidelity National Financial by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 17,406 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in Fidelity National Financial by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 7.7% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 7.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.17% of the company's stock.

Fidelity National Financial Trading Down 3.6%

NYSE:FNF opened at $43.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.70. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.78 and a 12 month high of $66.72.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 15.06%. Fidelity National Financial's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Fidelity National Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FNF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Fidelity National Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fidelity National Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. National Bank Financial set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.33.

Insider Transactions at Fidelity National Financial

In other Fidelity National Financial news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total transaction of $335,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $737,097.40. The trade was a 31.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

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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