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

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,230,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the October 31st total of 2,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FNF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fidelity National Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.60.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Performance

FNF opened at $62.25 on Thursday. Fidelity National Financial has a 52-week low of $45.36 and a 52-week high of $64.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.39.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.11). Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.73%.

Insider Transactions at Fidelity National Financial

In related news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 1,700 shares of Fidelity National Financial stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 13,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $803,585.10. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FNF. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 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.