First Horizon Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:FHN)

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 6,071 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 213% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,937 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FHN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on First Horizon from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

First Horizon Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of FHN stock opened at $20.35 on Wednesday. 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 has a 1 year low of $12.95 and a 1 year high of $21.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91.

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

First Horizon announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.48%.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In other First Horizon news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 43.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 948,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,724,000 after buying an additional 285,108 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Horizon by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,482,000 after acquiring an additional 100,359 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of First Horizon by 128.4% in the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 52,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 29,581 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of First Horizon by 10.1% in the third quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 465,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,229,000 after acquiring an additional 42,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the third quarter worth approximately $2,669,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.