abrdn plc Increases Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

abrdn plc raised its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 880,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,646 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $34,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $403,517,000 after buying an additional 457,231 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,546,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $153,081,000 after buying an additional 34,151 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,057,000 after buying an additional 171,955 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,622,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,960,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 854,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,906,000 after buying an additional 17,462 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FE. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $40.23 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.85. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $35.41 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

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.