156,900 Shares in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 156,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Macroview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 141.7% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Stock Performance

Shares of FHN opened at $13.90 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.51 and a 200 day moving average of $13.33. First Horizon Co. has a one year low of $8.99 and a one year high of $18.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.94.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. First Horizon had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Horizon Co. will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $650.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FHN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised First Horizon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays started coverage on First Horizon in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James raised First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $17.00 in a report on Friday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.00.

First Horizon 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.