Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $58.00 to $62.00. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the stock. Fidelity National Information Services traded as high as $73.39 and last traded at $72.65, with a volume of 595940 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.30.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TheStreet upgraded Fidelity National Information Services from a “d” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Fidelity National Information Services from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Fidelity National Information Services from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Fidelity National Information Services from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut Fidelity National Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ellen R. Alemany bought 735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.32 per share, with a total value of $44,335.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 35,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,131,286.56. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fidelity National Information Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 60,473,174 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,307,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575,081 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,885,046 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,199,306,000 after acquiring an additional 6,503,451 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 37,620,210 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,259,846,000 after acquiring an additional 958,260 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 1.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,456,658 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,437,381,000 after purchasing an additional 367,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 12,877,515 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $773,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758,049 shares in the last quarter. 96.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fidelity National Information Services Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.43. The company has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a PE ratio of -6.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The information technology services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Fidelity National Information Services had a negative net margin of 54.30% and a positive return on equity of 13.06%. Fidelity National Information Services’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Information Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Fidelity National Information Services’s payout ratio is -12.81%.

Fidelity National Information Services declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Fidelity National Information Services

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc engages in the provision of financial services technology solutions for financial institutions, businesses, and developers worldwide. It operates through Banking Solutions, Capital Market Solutions, and Corporate and Other segments. The company provides core processing and ancillary applications; mobile and online banking; fraud, risk management, and compliance; card and retail payment; electronic funds transfer and network; wealth and retirement; and item processing and output solutions.