Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

FNF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.40.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FNF stock opened at $49.01 on Tuesday. Fidelity National Financial has a 52-week low of $36.24 and a 52-week high of $53.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $50.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Insider Activity at Fidelity National Financial

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 195.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,261,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,818,001 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $135,347,000. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 9.6% during the first quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 16,249,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $862,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,767 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $41,212,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,875,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,427,102,000 after acquiring an additional 728,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.