Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF)

Key Points

• Unusually high bearish options activity: Traders purchased 16,005 put options on Fidelity National Financial, more than 5,000% above its typical volume of 301 contracts.
• Shares remain under pressure: FNF traded near $42.65, close to its 1-year low of $42.32 and below its 50- and 200-day moving averages. An executive also sold 69,196 shares, reducing his direct ownership by 92.39%.
• Analyst sentiment is neutral despite solid results: Analysts give FNF an average “Hold” rating with a $56 price target, while the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share.

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 16,005 put options on the company. This is an increase of 5,217% compared to the typical volume of 301 put options.

Insider Activity at Fidelity National Financial

In other news, EVP Peter Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.70, for a total value of $3,162,257.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FNF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $181,017,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the second quarter valued at $112,882,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,210,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $195,287,000 after purchasing an additional 973,891 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 70.3% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 896,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,524,000 after buying an additional 369,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 74.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 688,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,464,000 after acquiring an additional 293,761 shares during the period. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FNF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. National Bank Financial set a $54.00 price target on Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Fidelity National Financial from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fidelity National Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FNF traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $42.65. 289,690 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,806,054. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.34 and a 200 day moving average of $48.17. Fidelity National Financial has a 1-year low of $42.32 and a 1-year high of $60.74. 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 has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.93.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.08. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 5.03%.The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Fidelity National Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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