AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Takes $414,000 Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 34,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter worth about $239,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 64,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 6,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the third quarter valued at about $121,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 2.4 %

FirstEnergy stock opened at $39.41 on Friday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a one year low of $36.81 and a one year high of $44.97. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.89 and its 200 day moving average is $41.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

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

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.