Strs Ohio Reduces Stock Holdings in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. $FNF

Strs Ohio lessened its stake in Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) by 85.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,390 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Fidelity National Financial were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the third quarter worth $26,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 4,545.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Fidelity National Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FNF. Wall Street Zen lowered Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Stephens initiated coverage on Fidelity National Financial in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel D. Lane sold 6,367 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.63, for a total transaction of $366,930.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 276,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,923,630.04. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Halim Dhanidina sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.90, for a total transaction of $335,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $737,097.40. This trade represents a 31.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FNF opened at $54.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.61 and a 12-month high of $66.72.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.57 billion. Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. will post 6.28 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Fidelity National Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.12%.

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.