Fidelity National Financial Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:FNF)

Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 10,505 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 3,036% compared to the average volume of 335 put options.

Fidelity National Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of FNF traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $59.08. The stock had a trading volume of 108,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,277,821. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.46. Fidelity National Financial has a twelve month low of $37.10 and a twelve month high of $59.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Fidelity National Financial (NYSE:FNF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.03). Fidelity National Financial had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 14.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Fidelity National Financial will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Fidelity National Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Anthony Park sold 85,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.82, for a total transaction of $4,319,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at $5,033,670.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelity National Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Fidelity National Financial by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,875,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,427,102,000 after buying an additional 728,768 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 16,249,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $862,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,424,767 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fidelity National Financial by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,181,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,332,000 after purchasing an additional 640,829 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,113,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,916,000 after purchasing an additional 171,521 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Financial by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,937,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,436,000 after buying an additional 184,078 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com lowered Fidelity National Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Fidelity National Financial in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.80.

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.