First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Hits New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $21.83 and last traded at $21.89, with a volume of 789681 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.29.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group assumed coverage on First Horizon in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.04.

First Horizon Trading Up 1.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.00. 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 has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. First Horizon had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 15.38%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total value of $2,323,877.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,861,381 shares in the company, valued at $39,330,980.53. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 220,954 shares of company stock worth $4,519,333. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 285,108 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Horizon by 13.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 100,359 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in First Horizon by 128.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 52,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 29,581 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its holdings in First Horizon by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 465,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,229,000 after acquiring an additional 42,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,669,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.