First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $22.19 and last traded at $22.09, with a volume of 66278 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FHN has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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, January 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.04.

First Horizon Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.92.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its 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 return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 15.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Analysts forecast that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In related news, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of First Horizon 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total value of $2,323,877.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,861,381 shares in the company, valued at $39,330,980.53. This trade represents a 5.58 % 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 have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FHN. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth about $267,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 11.1% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 82,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 8,263 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 65,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 21,475 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in First Horizon by 79.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 105,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 46,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the second quarter valued at approximately $312,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.