FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Acquired by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 91,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,624,000 after buying an additional 2,012 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 54,160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after acquiring an additional 13,829 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in FirstEnergy by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 119,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FE. Scotiabank raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $39.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy Corp. has a one year low of $35.41 and a one year high of $44.97. The company has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.82.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in the United States. It operates through Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments. The company owns and operates coal-fired, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power generating facilities.