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

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

Several research firms have issued reports on FHN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on First Horizon from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. National Bankshares set a $28.00 target price on First Horizon in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Horizon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Horizon

In other news, CAO Jeff L. Fleming sold 7,619 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 128,626 shares in the company, valued at $2,796,329.24. This represents a 5.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 155,149 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 307,432 shares in the company, valued at $6,551,375.92. The trade was a 33.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth $131,399,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 53.5% in 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 in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in First Horizon in the second quarter valued at about $79,776,000. Azora Capital LP grew its stake in First Horizon by 1,020.5% during the 2nd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,610,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Stock Performance

Shares of FHN stock opened at $24.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.40. First Horizon has a 1 year low of $15.19 and a 1 year high of $24.91. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.61.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.06. The business 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%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Horizon will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, October 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.36%.

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.