Fidelity Crafts 52-Week High

Zacks Equity Research
0

On May 13, 2014, Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF) reached a new 52-week high of $34.78 after posting impressive first-quarter 2014 earnings that included a positive earnings surprise of 23.81%. With respect to earnings trend, this financial services company delivered positive earnings surprises in all of the last four quarters with an average beat of 14.19%

In fact, shares of Fidelity National climbed almost 7% to $34.43 per share since the company reported first-quarter results on April 30, 2014. Also, the year-to-date return of the stock is 6.09%, much above the S&P 500’s return of 2.66% as well as that of another player in the industry, First American Financial Corp. (FAF) that generated a return of (2.23)% over the same period.

During the first quarter, Fidelity National’s top line improved on account of strong revenues by the Remy and FNFV units. Purchase orders and margins also showed improvement during the quarter. Moreover, book value increased, reflecting the company’s decent financial position.

Fidelity National has successfully integrated Lender Processing Services (LPS.V), which helped it to achieve cost synergies in the first quarter and improved margins as well. Moreover, this acquisition has enabled the company to raise its cost synergy target for the upcoming period. Given these positives, Fidelity National is expected to witness core business growth and margin improvement going forward.

Although the near-term prospects of Fidelity National do not seem promising enough, the long-term prospects remain impressive. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2014 has decreased 7.8% to $1.88 since the company reported its first-quarter results owing to the downward movement of estimates. This also translates into a year-over-year decline of 13.13%.

However, over the same period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2015 increased 1.2% to $2.45, also translating into a year-over-year improvement of 29.97%. The expected long term growth for the stock is 14.7%.

Fidelity National currently caries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). However, better-ranked stocks in the financial services space that are worth considering include Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG (AWH), First American Financial and ACE Ltd. (ACE). While Allied World and First American sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), ACE carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Read the Full Research Report on FNF
Read the Full Research Report on ACE
Read the Full Research Report on FAF
Read the Full Research Report on AWH


Zacks Investment Research

Advertisement

Recommended Stories

  • Dow Jones Falls As Donald Trump Stock Craters; Cathie Wood Buys This Stock Amid 51% Plunge

    The Dow Jones fell as Elon Musk made a Tesla move. The Donald Trump stock sank on the stock market today. Cathie Wood bought a diving stock.

  • Stock Selloff Spreads as Middle East Tension Rises: Markets Wrap

    (Bloomberg) -- European stocks tumbled, following a selloff in Asia and on Wall Street that was sparked by angst over elevated US interest rates and fueled by signs of fading momentum in China’s economy and rising tensions in the Middle East.Most Read from BloombergBeyond the Ivies: Surprise Winners in the List of Colleges With the Highest ROITrump Media’s $5.3 Billion Selloff Deepens as 270% Rally FizzlesS&P 500 Breaks Below 5,100 as Big Tech Sells Off: Markets WrapIran’s Attack on Israel Spark

  • Trump Media stock tanks 18% on move to issue millions of shares

    Trump Media stock slid as much as 16% on Monday after the parent company of Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, filed to issue more than 21 million shares.

  • Nvidia Reveals 8 'Secrets' For When To Sell Stocks. No. 2 Is Key.

    As top growth stocks like Nvidia test key moving averages, keep in mind these proven rules for when to sell stocks.

  • Tesla layoffs hit high performers, some departments slashed, sources say

    Tesla management told employees Monday that the recent layoffs -- which gutted some departments by 20% and even hit high performers -- were largely due to poor financial performance, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The layoffs were announced to staff just a week before Tesla is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings. The move comes as Tesla has seen its profit margin narrow over the past several quarters, the result of an EV price war that has persisted for at least a year.

  • Elon Musk Agrees With Jamie Dimon's Warning Of Political Polarization 'Creating Risks That Could Eclipse Anything Since World War II'

    JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon's annual shareholder letter is a moment investors await to understand the thinking of one of the world's most influential bankers. While there has been speculation of Dimon entering politics, with him even gaining the support of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman to run for president, JP Morgan shared in a statement that "Jamie has no plans to run for office" and that "he is very happy in his current role." That has not stopped him from oc

  • 4 Oversold Stocks to Buy Right Now

    Here are four stocks to buy now that could offer investors upside in the short and long term.

  • Bitcoin Halving May Lead to Some Sales, Crypto.com CEO Says

    (Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin selling may become evident as the date of the so-called halving nears but the event is set to bolster the price of the largest digital asset longer term, according to the head of the Crypto.com exchange.Most Read from BloombergBeyond the Ivies: Surprise Winners in the List of Colleges With the Highest ROITrump Media’s $5.3 Billion Selloff Deepens as 270% Rally FizzlesS&P 500 Breaks Below 5,100 as Big Tech Sells Off: Markets WrapIran’s Attack on Israel Sparks Race to Avert

  • Dow Jones Futures: Another Ugly Market Reversal; Nvidia Skids, Tesla Tumbles On 'Dark Day'

    Mideast fears and surging yields triggered another ugly market reversal. Nvidia and Microsoft fell while Tesla dived.

  • BlackRock’s Kapito Says Stocks Are Primed for a Comeback

    (Bloomberg) -- BlackRock Inc.’s Robert Kapito says the stock market is poised to benefit as investors deploy their outsized holdings of cash.Most Read from BloombergBeyond the Ivies: Surprise Winners in the List of Colleges With the Highest ROITrump Media’s $5.3 Billion Selloff Deepens as 270% Rally FizzlesS&P 500 Breaks Below 5,100 as Big Tech Sells Off: Markets WrapIran’s Attack on Israel Sparks Race to Avert a Full-Blown WarApple Faces Worst iPhone Slump Since Covid as Rivals RiseThere’s almo