Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

FNF has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Monday, October 6th. Stephens assumed coverage on Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. National Bankshares set a $72.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

NYSE FNF opened at $55.85 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $57.11 and its 200 day moving average is $57.35. Fidelity National Financial has a fifty-two week low of $50.61 and a fifty-two week high of $66.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 1.01.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fidelity National Financial

In related news, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total value of $366,930.21. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 276,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,923,630.04. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Severin Investments LLC bought a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 31.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 62,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,790,000 after buying an additional 1,718 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $253,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Fidelity National Financial Company Profile

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.