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

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $37.94 and last traded at $38.0830, with a volume of 180057 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research raised Fidelity National Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. National Bank Financial set a $54.00 price objective on Fidelity National Financial in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.25.

Fidelity National Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.49.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 5.03%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 5.18 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Fidelity National Financial’s payout ratio is currently 73.50%.

Institutional Trading of Fidelity National Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FNF. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the second quarter valued at about $112,882,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Fidelity National Financial by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,210,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,287,000 after buying an additional 973,891 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 70.3% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 896,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,524,000 after acquiring an additional 369,908 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 74.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 688,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,464,000 after acquiring an additional 293,761 shares during the period. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $13,359,000. 81.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fidelity National Financial

Fidelity National Financial, Inc (NYSE:FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services in the United States. Through its title insurance companies, the company helps protect property owners and lenders against losses arising from defects in property titles and supports the closing of residential and commercial real estate transactions.

FNF operates a portfolio of well-known title brands, including Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title and Alamo Title.