First Horizon National Corporation (FHN): Hedge Funds Are Bullish and Insiders Are Undecided, What Should You Do?

Should First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) investors track the following data?

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are plenty of gauges investors can use to watch Mr. Market. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite fund managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as useful, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to look at the world of equities. Obviously, there are many motivations for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this method if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).

Furthermore, we’re going to examine the latest info for First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN).

What have hedge funds been doing with First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 27% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.

Out of the hedge funds we follow, David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management had the largest position in First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN), worth close to $27.6 million, accounting for 0.9% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Richard Chilton of Chilton Investment Company, with a $27.3 million position; 0.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

Now, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. Dreman Value Management, managed by David Dreman, assembled the most valuable position in First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN). Dreman Value Management had 27.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Richard Chilton’s Chilton Investment Company also initiated a $27.3 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new FHN investors: Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

What have insiders been doing with First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN)?

Insider buying is most useful when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest half-year time period, First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also review the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN). These stocks are Bank Of The Ozarks Inc (NASDAQ:OZRK), Trustmark Corp (NASDAQ:TRMK), F.N.B. Corp (NYSE:FNB), EverBank Financial Corp (NYSE:EVER), and Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ:HBHC). This group of stocks belong to the regional – southeast banks industry and their market caps match FHN’s market cap.