First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Issues Earnings Results

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $819.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $809.51 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 16.07%. The company’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share.

First Horizon Stock Performance

First Horizon stock opened at $14.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94. First Horizon has a 12 month low of $8.99 and a 12 month high of $18.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.53 and its 200-day moving average is $13.34.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.96%.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Horizon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in First Horizon by 141.7% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Horizon in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FHN has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised shares of First Horizon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $15.50 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded First Horizon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised First Horizon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.15.

First Horizon announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 23rd that permits the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.