Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, a decline of 8.7% from the September 15th total of 2,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 982,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FNF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.40.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FNF traded down $0.10 on Thursday, reaching $62.66. 1,008,075 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,224,730. Fidelity National Financial has a fifty-two week low of $37.10 and a fifty-two week high of $62.97. The company’s 50 day moving average is $59.20 and its 200-day moving average is $53.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 7.19% and a return on equity of 14.48%. Fidelity National Financial’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fidelity National Financial will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Insider Transactions at Fidelity National Financial

In other news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.85, for a total transaction of $103,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $803,585.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 19,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 1.9% in the second quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 10,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 1.3% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 10.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 13.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 213 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, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various insurance products in the United States. The company operates through Title, F&G, and Corporate and Other segments. It offers title insurance, escrow, and other title related services, including trust activities, trustee sales guarantees, recordings and reconveyances, and home warranty products.