First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.82 and last traded at $21.71, with a volume of 380980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FHN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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, First Horizon currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.04.

First Horizon Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

First Horizon announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 14,370,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $226,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,558,129 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in First Horizon by 18.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,236,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,789,000 after acquiring an additional 4,116,486 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,242,000. Sculptor Capital LP raised its position in shares of First Horizon by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 10,200,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,015,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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.