Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 844,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,402 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of FirstEnergy worth $33,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of FE stock opened at $40.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.81 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The firm has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 104.71%.

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.