First Horizon’s (FHN) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $24.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on FHN. UBS Group initiated coverage on First Horizon in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush downgraded shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.04.

First Horizon Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FHN opened at $21.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. First Horizon has a 52 week low of $13.45 and a 52 week high of $21.72.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that First Horizon will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In other First Horizon news, 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 transaction of $199,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FHN. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in First Horizon by 160.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 306.2% during the 2nd 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 period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in First Horizon in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by 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.