The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Stock

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $18.50 to $23.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wedbush lowered First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Raymond James increased their price objective on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.71.

First Horizon Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:FHN opened at $21.09 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.65 and its 200-day moving average is $16.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. First Horizon has a 12 month low of $11.87 and a 12 month high of $21.72. The firm has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.48%.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at $3,323,452.80. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 365.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in First Horizon by 306.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of First Horizon by 44.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Horizon Company Profile

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.