Is Fidelity National Financial (FNF) Attractive After Recent Share Price Pullback?
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. - FNF Group FNF | 46.57 45.51 | -0.02% -2.27% Post |
- If you are wondering whether Fidelity National Financial at around US$43.26 is priced attractively or not, the next sections will walk through what the current share price might be implying about value.
- The stock has recently seen a 9.1% decline over the last 7 days, a 22.8% decline over the last 30 days, and is down 20.3% year to date, while still showing a 51.1% return over 3 years and 38.8% over 5 years.
- Recent coverage has focused on how investors are reassessing insurance names like Fidelity National Financial in light of shifting expectations for interest rates and deal activity in the sector. This context helps explain why the share price has moved sharply in the short term even with longer term returns still in positive territory.
- Fidelity National Financial currently scores a value rating of 4 out of 6 on Simply Wall St's valuation checks, and the rest of this article will walk through what that means across different valuation methods and then finish with a broader way to think about whether the stock fits into your portfolio.
Approach 1: Fidelity National Financial Excess Returns Analysis
The Excess Returns model looks at how efficiently Fidelity National Financial turns its equity base into profits, then compares those profits with the cost of funding that equity. In simple terms, it asks whether each dollar of shareholder capital is generating more earnings than it costs to provide that capital.
For Fidelity National Financial, book value is $27.39 per share and the stable book value used in the model is $26.59 per share, based on the median book value from the past 5 years. The model assumes stable EPS of $2.92 per share, sourced from the median return on equity over the same period, with an average return on equity of 10.96%.
The cost of equity is set at $1.86 per share, which leads to an estimated excess return of $1.06 per share. These excess earnings are then projected forward and discounted to arrive at an intrinsic value of $56.30 per share. Compared with the current share price around $43.26, this framework indicates the stock is about 23.2% undervalued on this measure.
Result: UNDERVALUED
Our Excess Returns analysis suggests Fidelity National Financial is undervalued by 23.2%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 52 more high quality undervalued stocks.
Approach 2: Fidelity National Financial Price vs Earnings
The P/E ratio is a useful way to look at profitable companies because it links what you pay for each share to the earnings that business is currently generating. Higher P/E ratios are usually associated with higher expected growth and lower perceived risk, while lower P/E ratios can reflect lower growth expectations or higher risk.
Fidelity National Financial currently trades on a P/E of 19.48x. This sits above the Insurance industry average P/E of 10.79x and the peer group average of 14.15x, suggesting the market is currently assigning a higher earnings multiple than many sector peers. Simply Wall St’s Fair Ratio for Fidelity National Financial is 22.86x, which is a proprietary estimate of what the P/E might be based on factors such as earnings growth, industry, profit margin, market cap and identified risks.
The Fair Ratio aims to give a more tailored view than simple peer or industry comparisons because it adjusts for company specific features rather than assuming one size fits all. Comparing the Fair Ratio of 22.86x with the current P/E of 19.48x points to the shares trading below that fair multiple on this approach.
Result: UNDERVALUED
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Upgrade Your Decision Making: Choose your Fidelity National Financial Narrative
Earlier it was mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation, so this is where Narratives come in. They allow you to connect your view of Fidelity National Financial’s business to a financial forecast and then to a Fair Value that you can compare with the current price.
A Narrative is simply your story about the company, written in numbers. You set assumptions for future revenue, earnings and margins, then see what Fair Value those assumptions imply rather than relying only on headline ratios.
On Simply Wall St’s Community page, Narratives are set up as an accessible tool used by millions of investors. You can quickly see how a thesis built around factors like digital investments, earnings mix or regulatory risk translates into a Fair Value that updates when new earnings, news or forecasts are added.
For example, one investor might focus on higher modeled revenue growth of 8.39%, a Fair Value of US$67.20 and analyst targets in the low US$70s. Another might anchor on more cautious targets in the low US$60s. By comparing each Narrative’s Fair Value with the current price you can decide which story best fits your own expectations and risk tolerance.
Do you think there's more to the story for Fidelity National Financial? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
