Stephens Begins Coverage on First Horizon (NYSE:FHN)

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $19.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of First Horizon from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised shares of First Horizon from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $15.50 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded First Horizon from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on First Horizon from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Horizon currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $16.36.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FHN opened at $15.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.17 and a 200-day moving average of $14.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.94. First Horizon has a fifty-two week low of $10.08 and a fifty-two week high of $16.28.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $819.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $809.51 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 16.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Horizon will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of First Horizon by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 278,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,948,000 after purchasing an additional 64,749 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Horizon by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,775,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $625,661,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,977 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in First Horizon by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 994,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,960,000 after acquiring an additional 137,525 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the 4th quarter valued at $1,019,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the 4th quarter worth $2,222,000. 80.28% of the stock is currently 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.