PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,259 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $3,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,069,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $12,198,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,318,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $371,911,000 after purchasing an additional 220,433 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.9% during the 3rd 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, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 323,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,852,000 after purchasing an additional 157,666 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of FE stock opened at $39.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.81 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for 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, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FE shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.33.

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.