Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Stock

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $23.00 to $25.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on 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 objective on First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush cut First Horizon from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.04.

First Horizon Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FHN traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.54. The company had a trading volume of 5,159,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,686,807. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.69. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.92. First Horizon has a 1-year low of $13.45 and a 1-year high of $21.72.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Research analysts predict that First Horizon will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

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

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in First Horizon by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 948,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,724,000 after purchasing an additional 285,108 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,482,000 after buying an additional 100,359 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Horizon by 128.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 52,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 29,581 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC boosted its stake in First Horizon by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 465,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,229,000 after buying an additional 42,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in First Horizon in the third quarter valued at $2,669,000. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.