UBS Group Initiates Coverage on First Horizon (NYSE:FHN)

Equities researchers at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 30.82% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FHN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens raised their price target on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wedbush downgraded shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.38.

First Horizon Stock Performance

FHN opened at $19.11 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.86. First Horizon has a 1 year low of $12.95 and a 1 year high of $21.72.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that First Horizon will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FHN. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Horizon in the second quarter worth approximately $281,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at $338,000. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the 2nd quarter valued at $159,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in First Horizon by 3.6% during the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 611,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,636,000 after acquiring an additional 21,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in First Horizon in the second quarter worth $28,000. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.