First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) Short Interest Down 20.2% in March

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,025,695 shares, a decrease of 20.2% from the March 15th total of 12,556,699 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,460,338 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

First Horizon News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting First Horizon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted FHN as “still a great bank to own” while rotating into regional banks, giving retail momentum and positive sentiment to the stock. Jim Cramer on First Horizon
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $26 and kept a Market Perform rating, which supports near-term upside expectations and helped buying interest. KBW Issues Positive Forecast for First Horizon
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat estimates: EPS $0.53 vs. $0.49 consensus, driven by higher net interest income and fee income; analysts note solid profitability and resilient credit metrics (loan growth, low CRE exposure) that support valuation. First Horizon Q1 Review
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains around a “Hold”/neutral stance (average rating: Hold), so while some shops lifted targets, broad analyst sentiment is not strongly bullish. Average Rating of Hold by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and a $26 price target, echoing cautious optimism but not an upgrade to buy. DA Davidson Reaffirms Neutral
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate staffing update: First Horizon Bank announced hires and a promotion in the Acadiana market — operationally positive but unlikely to move the stock materially. First Horizon Bank Announces New Hires
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports flagged rising expenses and slightly weaker capital ratios despite the revenue beat, which could cap multiple expansion until follow-through on cost control and capital metrics. Zacks: Q1 Earnings Beat but Rising Expenses

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FHN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of First Horizon from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $29.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of First Horizon from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Thursday. National Bank Financial set a $27.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Horizon from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Horizon has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.45.

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In other First Horizon news, EVP Anthony J. Restel sold 5,719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.35, for a total transaction of $139,257.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 619,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,075,864.20. This represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,033,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,007,000 after acquiring an additional 426,951 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the fourth quarter worth $153,942,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,336,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,531,000 after buying an additional 116,191 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,212,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,580,000 after buying an additional 491,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 25.3% during the third quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 4,788,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,267,000 after buying an additional 967,219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FHN traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,666,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,445,557. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.62. First Horizon has a twelve month low of $16.44 and a twelve month high of $26.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.54 and a 200 day moving average of $23.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $865.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $869.49 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that First Horizon will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from First Horizon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.00%.

First Horizon Company Profile

First Horizon Corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is a diversified financial services company providing an array of retail, commercial and wealth management solutions. As the largest bank-based financial services firm in Tennessee, First Horizon operates through a network of branches and digital platforms across the Southeastern United States, offering personal and business banking, mortgage origination and servicing, payment solutions and treasury management services.

Tracing its origins to the First National Bank of Memphis established in 1864, First Horizon has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to serve customers in Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.