Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stake in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 44.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,479 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $1,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in First Horizon by 365.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Horizon in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in First Horizon by 306.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in First Horizon by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FHN shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price objective on First Horizon in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James upped their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush cut First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.08.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In other news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE FHN opened at $20.72 on Tuesday. First Horizon Co. has a 12-month low of $12.95 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The company has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.46.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First Horizon Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. First Horizon’s payout ratio is currently 43.48%.

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

First Horizon 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.