First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.04.

FHN has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group began coverage on First Horizon in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

First Horizon Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of FHN opened at $21.58 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.60. First Horizon has a twelve month low of $13.72 and a twelve month high of $22.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. First Horizon had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 15.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

First Horizon declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total transaction of $2,323,877.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,861,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,330,980.53. This represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FHN. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of First Horizon by 160.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in First Horizon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in First Horizon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in First Horizon by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Horizon

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.