Earnings Preview: Fidelity National

Fidelity National Financial (FNF) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Wednesday, February 4, before the market open, with a conference call scheduled for 11:00 am ET.

Guidance

The consensus full-year estimate for EPS is $(1.19) and the consensus estimate for revenue is $6.35B, according to First Call. The consensus range for EPS is (7c)-1c, while the consensus range for revenue is $956.10M-$1.06B.

Analyst Views

Several observers have been optimistic about Fidelity National in recent weeks. Earlier this week, Stephens recommended buying shares of Fidelity on weakness. In addition, Barclays last month upgraded the company to Overweight from Equal Weight.

In December, Barron's predicted that Fidelity National and other title insurance companies would benefit from the decline of interest rates on mortgages. The publication noted that mortgage applications during the last week of November surged 112%, compared with the prior week.

In late December, Fidelity closed the acquisition of two title insurance underwriters previously owned by Landamerica Financial Group (LFGRQ.PK). Fidelity paid a combined $298M for the two companies. Investors will want to know how much Fidelity believes the two companies will contribute to its bottom line and market share.