Short Interest in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Increases By 9.4%

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,510,000 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the September 30th total of 5,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on FHN shares. Raymond James downgraded First Horizon from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.92.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of First Horizon stock opened at $17.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. First Horizon has a 1-year low of $10.55 and a 1-year high of $17.93.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 15.43%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Horizon will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.48%.

First Horizon announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of First Horizon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FHN. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in First Horizon by 46.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,558,129 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in First Horizon by 49.8% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 13,333,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $205,340,000 after acquiring an additional 4,434,929 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 2nd quarter worth $66,779,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $510,782,000 after acquiring an additional 3,870,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.