GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 48.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6.2% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FE traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $41.94. The company had a trading volume of 3,608,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,988,200. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy Corp. has a one year low of $32.18 and a one year high of $43.65.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.92.

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.