Shares Of First Horizon National Slip On Downgrade

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of First Horizon National Corp. slipped Friday after a Citi analyst downgraded the Southern bank operator, citing that its stock might be overvalued.

Analyst Keith Horowitz lowered the regional bank to "hold" from "buy" but maintained a $12 target price. First Horizon stock fell 37 cents, or 3 percent, to $10.79 in afternoon trading.

Horowitz noted First Horizon's shares are trading at nine to 11 times the bank's "normalized earning power" of $1 to $1.25.

The higher market confidence in the bank is in part a result of its management actively addressing credit problems with measures including slashing dividends, Horowitz wrote.

Horowitz also rated the Memphis, Tenn.-bank as "high risk" because of its exposure to the housing industry. More than half the bank's loan portfolio is in segments such as home building and consumer real estate, he noted.

However, he also noted that First Horizon is well capitalized and will likely be among the first banks to repay federal bailout money.