Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $45.94 and last traded at $46.1120, with a volume of 281212 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FNF. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. National Bank Financial set a $71.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.33.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Down 3.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.24 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.72.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 4.17% and a return on equity of 15.06%. Fidelity National Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.65%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total transaction of $335,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $737,097.40. The trade was a 31.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 997.7% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 81.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Fidelity National Financial

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.