First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $819.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $809.51 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 17.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS.

First Horizon Stock Performance

NYSE:FHN opened at $14.17 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.34. The company has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. First Horizon has a 52 week low of $8.99 and a 52 week high of $18.99.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on First Horizon in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of First Horizon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James raised shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $13.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of First Horizon from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of First Horizon by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 292,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,138,000 after purchasing an additional 20,267 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 152.2% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 57,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 34,904 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 246,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,487,000 after acquiring an additional 19,827 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 52.2% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 27,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 9,524 shares during the period. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the fourth quarter worth about $6,023,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Horizon declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.