Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $42.21 and last traded at $42.2030, with a volume of 315110 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research raised Fidelity National Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.00. The firm has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.93.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fidelity National Financial news, EVP Peter Sadowski sold 69,196 shares of Fidelity National Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.70, for a total value of $3,162,257.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,581.40. This trade represents a 92.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fidelity National Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fidelity National Financial

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.