Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 87,417 Shares of First Horizon Corporation $FHN

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) by 44.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 283,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,417 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of First Horizon worth $6,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 5.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 13,458,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,319,000 after purchasing an additional 646,060 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in First Horizon by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,010,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $148,632,000 after buying an additional 255,429 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of First Horizon by 45.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,738,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,855,000 after acquiring an additional 2,091,865 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the second quarter valued at approximately $131,399,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth $79,776,000. Institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 155,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jeff L. Fleming sold 7,619 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 128,626 shares in the company, valued at $2,796,329.24. This trade represents a 5.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on FHN. Jefferies Financial Group set a $25.00 price objective on First Horizon and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Horizon in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Horizon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.58.

First Horizon Trading Up 0.8%

First Horizon stock opened at $24.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.60. First Horizon Corporation has a 12 month low of $15.19 and a 12 month high of $25.21.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.06. First Horizon had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The company had revenue of $892.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.87 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that First Horizon Corporation will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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

First Horizon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from First Horizon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.91%.

First Horizon Company Profile

First Horizon Corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is a diversified financial services company providing an array of retail, commercial and wealth management solutions. As the largest bank-based financial services firm in Tennessee, First Horizon operates through a network of branches and digital platforms across the Southeastern United States, offering personal and business banking, mortgage origination and servicing, payment solutions and treasury management services.

Tracing its origins to the First National Bank of Memphis established in 1864, First Horizon has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to serve customers in Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.