First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded First Horizon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on First Horizon from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on First Horizon from $16.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Horizon presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.15.

First Horizon Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FHN traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $14.62. 5,108,321 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,154,283. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94. First Horizon has a 52-week low of $8.99 and a 52-week high of $18.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.55 and a 200-day moving average of $13.37.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $819.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $809.51 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 16.07%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that First Horizon will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. DMC Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 18,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 3,912 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Horizon during the 1st quarter valued at about $744,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 33,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 2.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% 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.