JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Price Target to $22.50

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $23.00 to $22.50 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

FHN has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their target price on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Horizon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.35.

First Horizon Stock Performance

Shares of First Horizon stock opened at $20.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.92. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $20.13 and a 200 day moving average of $17.44. First Horizon has a 12 month low of $12.95 and a 12 month high of $21.72.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $821.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Horizon will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s payout ratio is 43.48%.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In other news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of First Horizon by 160.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 365.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 44.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in First Horizon in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.