Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Acquires 516 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FE. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,958,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 60.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 32,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 12,050 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 1,112,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,254,000 after buying an additional 15,507 shares during the period. Millington Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $1,266,000. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 69,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,755,000 after buying an additional 16,871 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 10.1 %

FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.01 and a 1-year high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp decreased their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report 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. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

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.