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

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.04.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price objective on First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of First Horizon in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity

In other First Horizon news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total value of $2,323,877.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,861,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,330,980.53. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 220,954 shares of company stock valued at $4,519,333. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in First Horizon by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 948,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,724,000 after acquiring an additional 285,108 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Horizon by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,482,000 after purchasing an additional 100,359 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of First Horizon by 128.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 52,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 29,581 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its position in First Horizon by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 465,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,229,000 after buying an additional 42,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in First Horizon during the third quarter valued at $2,669,000. Institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FHN opened at $21.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.91. First Horizon has a twelve month low of $13.45 and a twelve month high of $21.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 29th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

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.