Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on First Horizon (NYSE:FHN)

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 20,052 call options on the company. This is an increase of 207% compared to the average daily volume of 6,523 call options.

First Horizon Stock Down 1.3%

FHN traded down $0.32 on Monday, hitting $23.14. 1,181,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,305,641. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.44. The company has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.60. First Horizon has a twelve month low of $19.80 and a twelve month high of $26.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $887.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $878.42 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Horizon will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Horizon in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. National Bank Financial set a $30.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on First Horizon from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on First Horizon from $28.50 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Horizon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Horizon currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.31.

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In other First Horizon news, EVP Elizabeth Ardoin sold 18,313 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.85, for a total transaction of $455,078.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 340,368 shares in the company, valued at $8,458,144.80. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the second quarter worth about $1,505,239,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in First Horizon in the second quarter valued at about $747,445,000. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 14,453,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936,368 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Horizon in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $153,942,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $123,283,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

About First Horizon

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) is a financial services company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Through its principal subsidiary, First Horizon Bank, the company provides banking, lending and wealth management services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

Its consumer banking activities include checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, personal loans, credit products and digital banking services. First Horizon also serves commercial customers with business deposits, commercial and industrial loans, real estate financing, treasury management and other specialized banking solutions.

The company offers investment, trust and advisory services through its wealth management operations and provides capital markets services, including investment banking, securities underwriting, fixed-income products and institutional sales and trading.