Ascent Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.0% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,152,000 after acquiring an additional 69,512 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 7.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,725,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,288,000 after acquiring an additional 193,540 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.9% during the third 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 worth $104,057,000 after purchasing an additional 171,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,896,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,570,000 after purchasing an additional 104,253 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $41.59 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $35.41 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.54.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FE. Barclays upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.91.

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.