New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 588,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,879 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of First Horizon worth $8,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Horizon by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 127,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,804,000 after buying an additional 13,223 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Horizon in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in First Horizon by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 156,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,212,000 after purchasing an additional 11,367 shares in the last quarter. Black Swift Group LLC purchased a new stake in First Horizon in the 4th quarter worth $3,404,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in First Horizon by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Stock Performance

First Horizon stock opened at $14.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.94. First Horizon Co. has a 1-year low of $8.99 and a 1-year high of $18.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.50 and its 200 day moving average is $13.24.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. First Horizon had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 9.94%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First Horizon Co. will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $650.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Horizon from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Horizon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of First Horizon from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $15.50 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.00.

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.