First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.82 and last traded at $21.71, with a volume of 380980 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group initiated coverage on First Horizon in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.04.

First Horizon Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Horizon

In other First Horizon news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at $3,323,452.80. This trade represents 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FHN. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in First Horizon by 2.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 239,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 5,469 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 5.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 121,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in First Horizon by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 25,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 2,143 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in First Horizon by 67.6% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 30,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 12,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in First Horizon by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 507,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,011,000 after buying an additional 81,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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.