StockNews.com Downgrades First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded First Horizon from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Horizon from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on First Horizon from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Horizon presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $16.15.

First Horizon Stock Up 0.8 %

First Horizon stock opened at $15.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.94. First Horizon has a 1-year low of $8.99 and a 1-year high of $15.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

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

First Horizon announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, June 14th. First Horizon’s payout ratio is 41.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Macroview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Horizon in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Horizon during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Horizon during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 129.3% in the 1st quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.