FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Position Lessened by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC lowered its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 460 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 68,155,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,498,567,000 after purchasing an additional 18,853,983 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,307,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,271,000 after buying an additional 1,158,034 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,454,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,637,000 after buying an additional 590,815 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 63.4% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,328,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,295,000 after acquiring an additional 515,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,631,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $41.52. The stock had a trading volume of 3,110,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,955,675. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.59. The company has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on FE. Barclays boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.55.

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.