First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. First Horizon’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

First Horizon Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of First Horizon stock opened at $14.28 on Friday. First Horizon has a 12-month low of $8.99 and a 12-month high of $18.99. The company has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.34.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. First Horizon’s payout ratio is currently 41.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Horizon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $16.00 to $17.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $13.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of First Horizon from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.15.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FHN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the fourth quarter worth about $133,345,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in First Horizon by 15.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,368,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,736,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173,357 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in First Horizon by 62.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,302,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,018 shares in the last quarter. Davide Leone & Partners Investment Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in First Horizon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,744,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP raised its stake in First Horizon by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 10,162,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $143,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,500 shares in the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.