Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Decreases Position in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its holdings in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 649,326 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $3,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in First Horizon by 365.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its position in shares of First Horizon by 306.2% during the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares in the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 44.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of First Horizon stock opened at $20.69 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.61. First Horizon Co. has a 12-month low of $12.95 and a 12-month high of $21.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Horizon Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.48%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FHN. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price target on First Horizon in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.46.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.