First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $20.57 and last traded at $20.54, with a volume of 203064 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush downgraded First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Raymond James upped their price target on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Horizon has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.38.

First Horizon Trading Up 3.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.32 and its 200 day moving average is $16.27.

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

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.48%.

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

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In other First Horizon news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FHN. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in First Horizon by 365.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 306.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Horizon during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in First Horizon by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. 80.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Horizon Company Profile

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.