First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Price Target Raised to $23.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $18.50 to $23.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on FHN. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush lowered shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.71.

First Horizon Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:FHN opened at $21.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.41. First Horizon has a 52 week low of $12.40 and a 52 week high of $21.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.86.

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

First Horizon announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in First Horizon by 365.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in First Horizon in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in First Horizon by 306.2% in the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Horizon in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in First Horizon by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.