First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,510,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the September 30th total of 5,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,740,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

First Horizon Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE FHN traded up $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $17.82. 775,513 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,547,494. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. First Horizon has a 1 year low of $10.55 and a 1 year high of $17.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.88.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Horizon will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.96%.

First Horizon declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of First Horizon by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after acquiring an additional 2,029 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake 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 valued at $2,114,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in First Horizon by 24.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 33,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in First Horizon during the first quarter valued at about $744,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 6.5% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FHN has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on First Horizon from $18.50 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Raymond James lowered 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush cut First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Horizon has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.77.

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.