First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Shares Purchased by Gries Financial LLC

Gries Financial LLC raised its stake in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FHN. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in First Horizon by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 948,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,724,000 after purchasing an additional 285,108 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 13.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,482,000 after buying an additional 100,359 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 128.4% during the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 52,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 29,581 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $453,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its holdings in First Horizon by 10.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 42,793 shares during the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FHN opened at $21.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. First Horizon Co. has a 1-year low of $13.45 and a 1-year high of $22.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.64 and a 200-day moving average of $18.03.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. First Horizon’s payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FHN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on First Horizon from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 220,954 shares of company stock worth $4,519,333 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.87% 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.