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

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.4118.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FHN shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on First Horizon from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of First Horizon in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen began coverage on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of First Horizon from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 16th.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of FHN opened at $21.72 on Tuesday. First Horizon has a twelve month low of $15.19 and a twelve month high of $23.70. The company has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.81 and a 200 day moving average of $21.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.08 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, October 27th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Horizon news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 155,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.31, for a total value of $3,306,225.19. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 307,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,551,375.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jeff L. Fleming sold 7,619 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total transaction of $165,637.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 128,626 shares in the company, valued at $2,796,329.24. This represents a 5.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Horizon in the second quarter worth about $131,399,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of First Horizon by 53.5% during the 1st 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 valued at $244,594,000 after acquiring an additional 4,392,405 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Horizon in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,776,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in First Horizon by 78.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,755,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968,012 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in First Horizon during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,640,000. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.