Larson Financial Group LLC Purchases 2,475 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,475 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FE. Balanced Wealth Group LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 36.0% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 4.4% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in FirstEnergy by 0.7% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 44,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.91.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:FE opened at $41.79 on Monday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $35.41 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.45. 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 has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

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.