Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on First Horizon (NYSE:FHN)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 225,124 First Horizon call options, more than 52 times the average daily volume of 4,206 contracts.
• Institutional support: Several major investors recently built or initiated positions in First Horizon, with institutional investors and hedge funds owning 80.28% of the stock.
• Mixed but solid fundamentals: First Horizon beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $27.16. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 225,124 call options on the company. This is an increase of 5,252% compared to the average volume of 4,206 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon in the 4th quarter valued at about $153,942,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in First Horizon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,319,000. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its position in First Horizon by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 14,453,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $328,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936,368 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Horizon by 3,401.0% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,030,457 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,528,000 after buying an additional 1,972,461 shares during the period. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Horizon in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,483,000. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FHN traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,299,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,467,595. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.61. First Horizon has a twelve month low of $19.80 and a twelve month high of $26.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $890.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $878.42 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 21.12%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Horizon will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. First Horizon's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FHN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. National Bank Financial set a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on First Horizon from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of First Horizon in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Horizon from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Fundamental Research set a $28.50 target price on First Horizon in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.16.

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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