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

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $819.00 million during 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 for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS.

First Horizon Stock Performance

First Horizon stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.60. 1,481,835 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,103,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94. First Horizon has a 1 year low of $8.99 and a 1 year high of $18.99.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. First Horizon’s payout ratio is presently 41.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on First Horizon in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised First Horizon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $15.50 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on First Horizon from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Horizon currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.15.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in First Horizon by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 292,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,138,000 after purchasing an additional 20,267 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 152.2% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 57,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 34,904 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 246,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,487,000 after buying an additional 19,827 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 52.2% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 27,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 9,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the fourth quarter worth about $6,023,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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

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.