First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $23.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on First Horizon from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.41.

First Horizon Stock Down 0.2%

First Horizon stock opened at $21.39 on Friday. First Horizon has a fifty-two week low of $15.19 and a fifty-two week high of $23.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.96 and its 200-day moving average is $21.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. First Horizon had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.08%.The business had revenue of $893.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, October 27th that permits the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Horizon’s payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Horizon

In other news, CAO Jeff L. Fleming sold 7,619 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total value of $165,637.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 128,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,796,329.24. This represents a 5.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 155,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.31, for a total transaction of $3,306,225.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 307,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,551,375.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 262,768 shares of company stock valued at $5,721,862 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the second quarter worth about $131,399,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of First Horizon by 53.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,594,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,594,000 after acquiring an additional 4,392,405 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $79,776,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 78.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,755,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in First Horizon in the first quarter valued at $46,640,000. 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.