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

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 41,153 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 146% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,724 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on FHN. National Bank Financial set a $27.00 target price on First Horizon in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Stephens lifted their price target on First Horizon from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 price target on shares of First Horizon and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Horizon currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.66.

First Horizon Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of FHN stock opened at $23.74 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.59 and a 200 day moving average of $23.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. First Horizon has a 1-year low of $15.19 and a 1-year high of $26.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.63.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $888.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.87 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 19.67%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from First Horizon’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Anthony J. Restel sold 5,719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.35, for a total transaction of $139,257.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 619,132 shares in the company, valued at $15,075,864.20. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FHN. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in First Horizon by 313.2% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 62,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 47,119 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in First Horizon in the 3rd quarter worth $2,361,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,416,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 301.4% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 229,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after purchasing an additional 172,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,211,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Horizon

First Horizon Corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is a diversified financial services company providing an array of retail, commercial and wealth management solutions. As the largest bank-based financial services firm in Tennessee, First Horizon operates through a network of branches and digital platforms across the Southeastern United States, offering personal and business banking, mortgage origination and servicing, payment solutions and treasury management services.

Tracing its origins to the First National Bank of Memphis established in 1864, First Horizon has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to serve customers in Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.