Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Stock

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) had its target price hoisted by Evercore ISI from $18.00 to $20.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on FHN. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James downgraded shares of First Horizon from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Horizon from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.92.

First Horizon Price Performance

FHN stock opened at $17.19 on Wednesday. First Horizon has a one year low of $10.89 and a one year high of $17.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.86.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its 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. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FHN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 137,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 24.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 33,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First Horizon in the first quarter worth about $744,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 6.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during 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.