First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01, RTT News reports. First Horizon had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 8.96%. The company had revenue of $819.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $809.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

First Horizon Stock Performance

Shares of FHN stock opened at $14.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.53 and a 200-day moving average of $13.34. First Horizon has a one year low of $8.99 and a one year high of $18.99.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.96%.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PEAK6 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 4th quarter valued at about $145,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $145,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $133,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $650.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $16.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of First Horizon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $15.50 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Horizon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.15.

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.