Everence Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in First Horizon by 365.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in shares of First Horizon by 306.2% during the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 160.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in First Horizon by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Horizon 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 sale, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FHN shares. Raymond James increased 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of First Horizon in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush downgraded First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on First Horizon from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.35.

First Horizon Stock Performance

FHN stock opened at $20.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 1.51 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $12.95 and a 1 year high of $21.72.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that First Horizon Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s payout ratio is currently 43.48%.

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.