First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01, RTT News reports. First Horizon had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $819.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $809.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. First Horizon’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

First Horizon Price Performance

FHN stock opened at $14.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.55 and its 200-day moving average is $13.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.94. First Horizon has a 1 year low of $8.99 and a 1 year high of $18.99.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FHN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on First Horizon from $16.00 to $17.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded First Horizon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Horizon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.15.

First Horizon declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FHN. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Horizon during the 4th quarter worth about $133,345,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in First Horizon by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,368,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,173,357 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in First Horizon by 62.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,302,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657,018 shares in the last quarter. Davide Leone & Partners Investment Co Ltd. bought a new position in First Horizon in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,744,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its position in First Horizon by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 10,162,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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.