First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Hits New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $17.81 and last traded at $17.74, with a volume of 532852 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.29.

The newly announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. First Horizon's dividend payout ratio is 41.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on First Horizon from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded First Horizon from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Stephens increased their target price on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.92.

First Horizon Price Performance

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $16.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.71. The stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.88. 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 (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that First Horizon Co. will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,574,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $886,640,000 after acquiring an additional 627,730 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in First Horizon by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,389,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $510,782,000 after buying an additional 3,870,946 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Horizon by 28.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,515,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $244,647,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470,346 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Horizon by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 14,370,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $226,626,000 after buying an additional 4,558,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of First Horizon by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 14,025,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $221,187,000 after buying an additional 692,100 shares during the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.