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

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

FHN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of FHN stock opened at $20.85 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.67. 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 has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $22.44. The stock has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Horizon will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total value of $2,323,877.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,861,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,330,980.53. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in First Horizon by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 37,131,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,822,000 after buying an additional 7,715,191 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of First Horizon by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,236,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,789,000 after purchasing an additional 4,116,486 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Horizon by 102.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 21,285,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $428,686,000 after purchasing an additional 10,763,349 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Horizon by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,869,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,173,000 after purchasing an additional 97,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Horizon by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,346,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,194,000 after purchasing an additional 61,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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.