Short Interest in Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS) Drops By 7.7%

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,490,000 shares, a drop of 7.7% from the December 15th total of 12,450,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FIS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Fidelity National Information Services from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Fidelity National Information Services from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BNP Paribas lowered Fidelity National Information Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Fidelity National Information Services from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fidelity National Information Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lenore D. Williams sold 11,305 shares of Fidelity National Information Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.97, for a total value of $994,500.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,832,546.03. The trade was a 25.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey A. Goldstein acquired 701 shares of Fidelity National Information Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $79.97 per share, with a total value of $56,058.97. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 11,098 shares in the company, valued at $887,507.06. This represents a 6.74 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fidelity National Information Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FIS. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Fidelity National Information Services by 94.1% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 328 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Fidelity National Information Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Fidelity National Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 42,342 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 50.2% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 437 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.23% of the company’s stock.

Fidelity National Information Services Stock Performance

NYSE FIS traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $78.70. 3,149,968 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,263,666. Fidelity National Information Services has a 12-month low of $58.24 and a 12-month high of $91.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.12 and a 200 day moving average of $82.34. The company has a market cap of $42.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The information technology services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.11. Fidelity National Information Services had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 14.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fidelity National Information Services will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Fidelity National Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Fidelity National Information Services’s payout ratio is currently 57.37%.

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.