10 Best Local Bank Stocks to Buy

7. First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 44

First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) is headquartered in Tennessee and offers various financial services through its Regional Banking and Specialty Banking segments. The stock price is up 47% in the last year due to strong financial performance and a consistent rise in price targets by analysts. In its latest assessment, Wells Fargo revised the target for FHN from $21 to $22.

The full-year results have been a mixed bag with EPS missing the analysts’ expectation by 6.7%. Even as the revenue grew by 1.9%, the net interest margin dropped from 3.42% to 3.35%. The profit margin was down from 29% to 24% as operational costs of First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) increased. On the brighter side, the revenue guidance estimates an average growth of 7.2% in the next three years compared to 7% for the industry. As a strategic move, FHN is restructuring its securities portfolio which should provide room for further margin expansion. First Horizon Corporation (NYSE:FHN) also offers a reasonable forward dividend yield of 2.8%.