The Goldman Sachs Group Increases First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Price Target to $23.00

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $18.50 to $23.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.06% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on FHN. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wedbush lowered shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Horizon presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.71.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FHN opened at $21.09 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.54 and a 200 day moving average of $16.35. The stock has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.86. First Horizon has a 12 month low of $11.87 and a 12 month high of $21.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Horizon will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,278,937.02. This represents a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.