Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.
According to Zacks, “Fidelity National Information Services shares underperformed the industry, year to date. Estimates have been stable lately ahead of the company’s Q2 earnings release. Fidelity has positive record of earnings surprises in recent quarters. Further, it remains well positioned for growth backed by its attractive core business with a recurring revenue model, digitization, diversified product portfolio, benefits from strategic acquisitions, as well as several ongoing strategic initiatives. Moreover, cost-control efforts are also commendable. It anticipates 2017 adjusted earnings per share in the band of $4.15–$4.30, reflecting an increase of 9–13% year over year and cost synergies to exceed $300 million. We remain cautious owing to several issues, including the ongoing consolidation in the banking sector and stiff competition. Moreover, elevated debt level is also a concern.”
Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FIS. BidaskClub upgraded Fidelity National Information Services from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. lifted their price objective on Fidelity National Information Services from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a buy rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Fidelity National Information Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Cowen and Company reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Fidelity National Information Services in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Fidelity National Information Services in a research report on Friday, June 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Fidelity National Information Services currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $92.20.
Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) traded down 0.04% on Tuesday, hitting $90.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,748,857 shares. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.41. The firm has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.30 and a beta of 0.84. Fidelity National Information Services has a 1-year low of $73.25 and a 1-year high of $91.90.
Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The information technology services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Fidelity National Information Services had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 7.08%. Fidelity National Information Services’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fidelity National Information Services will post $4.28 earnings per share for the current year.
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Fidelity National Information Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 13.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Fidelity National Information Services’s payout ratio is currently 58.00%.
In related news, Director James B. Stallings, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Fidelity National Information Services stock in a transaction on Friday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.39, for a total transaction of $85,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,237,984.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary Norcross sold 158,122 shares of Fidelity National Information Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total value of $13,162,075.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 465,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,774,940.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 479,789 shares of company stock valued at $39,879,240. 2.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 3,230.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 21,025,798 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,674,072,000 after buying an additional 20,394,426 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Information Services during the second quarter worth approximately $106,333,000. Janus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 23.7% in the first quarter. Janus Capital Management LLC now owns 5,127,324 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $408,238,000 after buying an additional 983,896 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 4.8% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,370,281 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,462,643,000 after buying an additional 845,325 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 3.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,818,241 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $1,737,168,000 after buying an additional 745,789 shares during the period. 86.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Fidelity National Information Services
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc (FIS) is a financial services technology company. The Company operates through three segments: Integrated Financial Solutions (IFS), Global Financial Solutions (GFS), and Corporate and Other. The IFS segment is focused on serving the North American regional and community bank and savings institutions market for transaction and account processing, payment solutions, channel solutions, digital channels, risk and compliance solutions, and services.
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