Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Short Interest Update

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,220,000 shares, a decrease of 5.3% from the May 31st total of 3,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.64, for a total transaction of $151,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $754,839.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Anthony Park sold 85,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.82, for a total value of $4,319,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,033,670.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.64, for a total value of $151,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,906 shares in the company, valued at $754,839.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 66,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,390,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 4,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 77,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,940,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. 81.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FNF. Stephens upped their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.40.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of FNF opened at $49.37 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.21. Fidelity National Financial has a fifty-two week low of $34.96 and a fifty-two week high of $53.96. The company has a market capitalization of $13.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 1.35.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.08). Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 6.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

About Fidelity National Financial

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.