This Metric Says You Are Smart to Sell Fidelity National Financial Inc (FNF)

Is Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF) a bargain? Money managers are getting less optimistic. The number of long hedge fund positions went down by 8 in recent months.

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can outperform the broader indices by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. There are many incentives for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if “monkeys” understand what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the key action surrounding Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF).

How are hedge funds trading Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF)?

At the end of the first quarter, a total of 31 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -21% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.

Of the funds we track, Maverick Capital, managed by Lee Ainslie, holds the biggest position in Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF). Maverick Capital has a $242.3 million position in the stock, comprising 3.1% of its 13F portfolio. On Maverick Capital’s heels is Eminence Capital, managed by Ricky Sandler, which held a $128.7 million position; the fund has 3.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Kenneth Mario Garschina’s Mason Capital Management, John Paulson’s Paulson & Co and Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group.

Because Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF) has witnessed falling interest from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds who sold off their positions entirely last quarter. Intriguingly, Jacob Doft’s Highline Capital Management cut the largest stake of the “upper crust” of funds we key on, valued at an estimated $31 million in stock.. Charles Davidson’s fund, Wexford Capital, also said goodbye to its stock, about $28.9 million worth. These bearish behaviors are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest was cut by 8 funds last quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest 180-day time period, Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 3 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF). These stocks are OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE:OB), Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI), and Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO). This group of stocks are the members of the 0 industry and their market caps resemble FNF’s market cap.

With the results demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s tactics, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Fidelity National Financial Inc (NYSE:FNF) is no exception.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds