First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05, RTT News reports. First Horizon had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 15.43%.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FHN opened at $21.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. First Horizon has a 1-year low of $12.95 and a 1-year high of $21.72. The company has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.35 and a 200-day moving average of $17.61.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.48%.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In other First Horizon news, 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 value of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on FHN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on First Horizon from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.35.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.