Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE – Free Report) by 54.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,053 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Balanced Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 7,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.17.
FirstEnergy Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE FE opened at $41.06 on Tuesday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.81 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $23.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.77.
FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE – Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company 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 analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.71%.
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.
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