First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $24.88 and last traded at $24.8550, with a volume of 2259873 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cowen assumed coverage on First Horizon in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. DA Davidson raised shares of First Horizon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on First Horizon from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.41.

First Horizon Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.19.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $893.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.08 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 18.08% and a return on equity of 10.93%. First Horizon’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Horizon Corporation will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.36%.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 155,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.31, for a total value of $3,306,225.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 307,432 shares in the company, valued at $6,551,375.92. This trade represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $165,637.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 128,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,796,329.24. This trade represents a 5.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in First Horizon by 5.0% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 13,458,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,319,000 after purchasing an additional 646,060 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised 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 buying an additional 4,392,405 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,606,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,990,000 after buying an additional 595,869 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 45.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,738,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,855,000 after buying an additional 2,091,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the second quarter worth about $131,399,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

About First Horizon

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.