Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports. The firm currently has a $53.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Zacks Investment Research's price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.97% from the company's previous close.
According to Zacks, "Fidelity National Title Group, Inc. is a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance and claims management services. FNT is one of the nation's largest title insurance companies through its title insurance underwriters. FNT also provides flood insurance, personal lines insurance and home warranty insurance through it specialty insurance business. FNT also is a leading provider of outsourced claims management services to large corporate and public sector entities through its minority-owned subsidiary, Sedgwick CMS. "
Separately, Barclays lifted their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday.
Shares of NYSE FNF traded up $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.76. 1,293,165 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,675,694. The company has a market cap of $13.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 1.39. Fidelity National Financial has a 1 year low of $29.82 and a 1 year high of $49.55. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $47.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19.
Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.67. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 25.33%. On average, research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.
Fidelity National Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 3rd that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
In other Fidelity National Financial news, EVP Peter T. Sadowski sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $1,102,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Roger S. Jewkes sold 13,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.17, for a total value of $640,095.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $4,920,321. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,158,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $180,719,000 after acquiring an additional 146,124 shares in the last quarter. Credit Suisse AG lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 536,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,793,000 after acquiring an additional 12,402 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,468,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,277,000 after acquiring an additional 314,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 462,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,088,000 after acquiring an additional 113,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.40% of the company's stock.
Fidelity National Financial Company Profile
Fidelity National Financial, Inc is engaged in the provision of title insurance and transaction services to real estate and mortgage industries. Its services include title insurance, escrow and other title-related services, including trust activities, trustee sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances, and home warranty products; and technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries.
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