First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Hits New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $17.81 and last traded at $17.74, with a volume of 532852 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.29.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised First Horizon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.77.

First Horizon Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.13 and its 200-day moving average is $15.71.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 15.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Horizon Co. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FHN. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 57.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 426,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,573,000 after purchasing an additional 155,982 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in First Horizon by 49.8% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 13,333,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,340,000 after acquiring an additional 4,434,929 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in First Horizon during the 1st quarter worth $2,366,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Horizon by 286.4% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 65,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 48,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the first quarter valued at about $8,019,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Horizon Company Profile

First Horizon Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Horizon Bank that provides various financial services. The company operates through Regional Banking and Specialty Banking segments. It offers general banking services for consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments.