First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Hits New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $21.83 and last traded at $21.89, with a volume of 789681 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.29.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. First Horizon’s payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FHN. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James upped their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.04.

First Horizon Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Horizon

In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total transaction of $2,323,877.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,861,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,330,980.53. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,323,452.80. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 220,954 shares of company stock valued at $4,519,333. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FHN. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in First Horizon by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,236,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,789,000 after buying an additional 4,116,486 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the third quarter worth about $39,242,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 169.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,886,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185,772 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in First Horizon in the third quarter valued at about $7,797,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in First Horizon by 590.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 517,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,039,000 after purchasing an additional 442,686 shares in the last quarter. 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.