First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.04.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FHN. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price target on First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

First Horizon Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE FHN opened at $21.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.79. First Horizon has a 12 month low of $13.45 and a 12 month high of $21.82.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. First Horizon had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 15.38%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Horizon will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

First Horizon announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 29th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their position. 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

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FHN. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of First Horizon by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 948,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,724,000 after buying an additional 285,108 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,482,000 after acquiring an additional 100,359 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of First Horizon by 128.4% during the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 52,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 29,581 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 465,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,229,000 after acquiring an additional 42,793 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the third quarter worth about $2,669,000. 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.