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

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in 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 daily trading volume, of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 1,700 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 13,206 shares in the company, valued at approximately $803,585.10. This represents 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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FNF. TPG GP A LLC acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $83,798,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 8.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,181,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,332,000 after acquiring an additional 640,829 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,025,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,041,000 after purchasing an additional 289,962 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,469,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,937,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,436,000 after purchasing an additional 184,078 shares during the period. 81.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

FNF opened at $63.03 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Fidelity National Financial has a 12 month low of $44.80 and a 12 month high of $64.83. The stock has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92 and a beta of 1.36.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.11). Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Fidelity National Financial will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is 69.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.