First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $20.57 and last traded at $20.54, with a volume of 203064 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FHN. Wedbush cut shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on First Horizon from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price objective on First Horizon in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Horizon has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.38.

First Horizon Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86.

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

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is 43.48%.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In other news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the company’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 value of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,937.02. This represents a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This trade represents 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FHN. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in First Horizon by 365.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 306.2% in the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in First Horizon by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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.