First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05, RTT News reports. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS.

First Horizon Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of FHN stock opened at $21.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. First Horizon has a 52-week low of $13.45 and a 52-week high of $21.72.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price target on First Horizon in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Horizon presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.04.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $1,996,255.98. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.87% 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.