Is First Horizon National Corporation (FHN) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds? – Trustmark Corp (TRMK), F.N.B. Corp (FNB)

First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. FHN has seen a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently. There were 15 hedge funds in our database with FHN positions at the end of the previous quarter.

At the moment, there are dozens of methods market participants can use to watch Mr. Market. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outperform the market by a very impressive margin (see just how much).

Just as important, optimistic insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the investments you’re interested in. Obviously, there are a number of motivations for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this strategy if you know where to look (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a peek at the latest action surrounding First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN).

What does the smart money think about First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN)?

In preparation for this year, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of -20% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.

Of the funds we track, Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital had the biggest position in First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN), worth close to $53.8 million, comprising 1.9% of its total 13F portfolio. On Samlyn Capital’s heels is Richard Chilton of Chilton Investment Company, with a $30.6 million position; the fund has 0.8% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include David Dreman’s Dreman Value Management, Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors and Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital.

Judging by the fact that First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) has faced bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there was a specific group of money managers who sold off their positions entirely heading into 2013. Intriguingly, David Harding’s Winton Capital Management dropped the biggest position of the 450+ funds we watch, totaling about $3 million in stock.. Israel Englander’s fund, Millennium Management, also said goodbye to its stock, about $1.9 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds heading into 2013.

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

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time frame, First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 2 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity 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). All of these stocks are in the regional – southeast banks industry and their market caps are similar to FHN’s market cap.

With the results shown by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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