Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 123,261 Shares of First Horizon Corporation $FHN

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors increased its First Horizon stake by 43.5% in Q4, buying 123,261 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 406,711 shares valued at about $9.72 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 80.28% of First Horizon stock held by institutions, and several other funds also added to their positions during the period.
• First Horizon reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting $0.53 EPS versus $0.49 expected, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share, implying a 2.8% annualized yield.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN - Free Report) by 43.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 406,711 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 123,261 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of First Horizon worth $9,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in First Horizon by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,606,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $171,990,000 after acquiring an additional 595,869 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in First Horizon by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,336,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $127,531,000 after acquiring an additional 116,191 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP grew its holdings in First Horizon by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 4,788,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $108,267,000 after acquiring an additional 967,219 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Horizon by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,849,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,993,000 after acquiring an additional 852,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in First Horizon by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,837,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,773,000 after acquiring an additional 10,302 shares during the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Horizon Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE FHN opened at $24.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.62. First Horizon Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.03 and a 52-week high of $26.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company's 50 day moving average price is $23.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.66.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.04. First Horizon had a net margin of 20.54% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The company had revenue of $865.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $869.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. First Horizon's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that First Horizon Corporation will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. First Horizon's payout ratio is presently 34.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $28.00 to $28.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group downgraded shares of First Horizon from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Horizon from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.45.

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.

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