Savant Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in First Horizon Corporation $FHN

Savant Capital LLC cut its holdings in First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) by 4.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 69,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,577 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of First Horizon by 53.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,594,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,594,000 after acquiring an additional 4,392,405 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $79,776,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in First Horizon by 78.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,755,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968,012 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Horizon in the first quarter worth $46,640,000. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 59.0% during the first quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 4,867,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,517,000 after buying an additional 1,806,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 155,149 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.31, for a total value of $3,306,225.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 307,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,551,375.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of First Horizon stock opened at $21.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.28. The stock has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.70. First Horizon Corporation has a 1-year low of $15.19 and a 1-year high of $23.70.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.06. First Horizon had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.08%.The business had revenue of $893.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.08 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that First Horizon Corporation will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, October 27th that permits the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. First Horizon’s payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FHN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on First Horizon from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on First Horizon from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their target price on First Horizon from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Horizon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.41.

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.