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

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) issued its 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 company 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 was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS.

First Horizon Price Performance

FHN stock opened at $14.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.34. The stock has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. First Horizon has a 1 year low of $8.99 and a 1 year high of $18.99.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Horizon by 115.5% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 3,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on FHN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on First Horizon from $16.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on First Horizon from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised First Horizon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on First Horizon from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.15.

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.