Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) Short Interest Down 7.7% in August

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,510,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the August 15th total of 2,720,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 992,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FNF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Fidelity National Financial from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.80.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

Shares of FNF stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 416,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,898. Fidelity National Financial has a 1-year low of $37.10 and a 1-year high of $61.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.43. The company has a market cap of $16.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 1.36.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 14.48% and a net margin of 7.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Fidelity National Financial will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 6,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the fourth quarter worth $217,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 86,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,398,000 after purchasing an additional 31,770 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 32,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 4,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in Fidelity National Financial by 11,119.1% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 124,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,342,000 after buying an additional 123,200 shares in the last quarter. 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.