Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Price Target to $24.00

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) had its price objective upped by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 20.36% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush downgraded shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Horizon currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of FHN opened at $19.94 on Thursday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $12.95 and a fifty-two week high of $21.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.88. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. First Horizon had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 15.43%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in First Horizon by 365.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in First Horizon in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in First Horizon by 306.2% during the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Horizon in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in First Horizon by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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.