FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,585 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FE. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,198,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised 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. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the third quarter valued at $1,154,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in FirstEnergy by 52.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 87,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,361,000 after purchasing an additional 30,309 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 186,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,267,000 after buying an additional 26,874 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on FE shares. Scotiabank raised FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $39.02 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $44.97.

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

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.