NEOS Investment Management LLC Boosts Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,467 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE:FE opened at $40.05 on Friday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.81 and a 12 month high of $44.97. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.13.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on FE shares. KeyCorp lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.