FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,843,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 508,570 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.42% of FirstEnergy worth $2,619,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Balanced Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 33.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 7,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $37.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.81 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.22.

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

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 104.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FE shares. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research cut FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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, Guggenheim cut their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

FirstEnergy 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.