Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,378,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 142,440 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.64% of First Horizon worth $52,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 611,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,636,000 after buying an additional 21,072 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at $701,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon in the second quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $187,000. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Horizon news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Stock Performance

FHN opened at $19.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. First Horizon Co. has a 52-week low of $12.95 and a 52-week high of $21.72. The company has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.92.

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

First Horizon declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. First Horizon’s payout ratio is 43.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FHN. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James upped their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of 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 seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Horizon presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

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.