First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01, RTT News reports. First Horizon had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 8.96%. The company had revenue of $819.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $809.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

First Horizon Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of FHN opened at $14.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a P/E 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’s 50-day moving average price is $14.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in First Horizon by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in First Horizon by 2.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 28,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in First Horizon by 0.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 140,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,068,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in First Horizon by 7.0% during the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, United Services Automobile Association increased its stake in First Horizon by 2.5% during the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 34,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FHN shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of First Horizon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Horizon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of First Horizon from $16.00 to $17.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised shares of First Horizon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $15.50 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.15.

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.