First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Coverage Initiated at UBS Group

UBS Group started coverage on shares of First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $25.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on FHN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush lowered First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James lifted their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on First Horizon from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.85.

First Horizon Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:FHN opened at $19.27 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. First Horizon has a 12-month low of $12.95 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.88.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Horizon will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.48%.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 29th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Horizon

In other news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at $10,278,937.02. This represents a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 552.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 273,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,502,000 after purchasing an additional 231,773 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of First Horizon by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 66,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 3,722 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in First Horizon in the third quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Horizon by 16.8% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in First Horizon by 227.0% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 33,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 23,203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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.