First Horizon Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:FHN)

by · The Markets Daily

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN – Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 43,702 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 167% compared to the typical volume of 16,353 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Horizon news, CAO Jeff L. Fleming sold 7,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total transaction of $165,637.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 128,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,796,329.24. The trade was a 5.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 155,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.31, for a total transaction of $3,306,225.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 307,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,551,375.92. This represents a 33.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 262,768 shares of company stock valued at $5,721,862. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 126,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,458,000 after acquiring an additional 22,852 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its stake in First Horizon by 713.3% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 151,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 132,481 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon in the 1st quarter valued at $7,506,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First Horizon by 117.7% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 35,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 19,191 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 283,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,511,000 after buying an additional 31,576 shares during the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of FHN traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $20.57. 5,111,680 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,233,807. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.36. First Horizon has a fifty-two week low of $15.19 and a fifty-two week high of $23.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $893.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.08 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 18.08% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that First Horizon will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.36%.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, October 27th that permits the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FHN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on First Horizon from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on First Horizon from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (down previously from $26.00) on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.41.

Read Our Latest Analysis on FHN

First Horizon Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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