First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Short Interest Up 9.4% in October

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in 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. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

First Horizon Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of FHN traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.82. The company had a trading volume of 775,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,547,494. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.84. First Horizon has a 52-week low of $10.55 and a 52-week high of $17.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.71.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. First Horizon had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Horizon will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. First Horizon’s payout ratio is 41.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Horizon

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 106,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 2,029 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 2.4% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 137,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the first quarter worth $744,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FHN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush lowered First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Raymond James lowered First Horizon from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens lifted their price objective on 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 reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on First Horizon from $18.50 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.77.

First Horizon Company 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.