Edgestream Partners L.P. Boosts Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 95.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth about $211,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 201.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 12,108 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 152,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,897,000 after purchasing an additional 30,498 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 10,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,335,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,572,000 after purchasing an additional 67,469 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FE shares. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.55.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE FE traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.80. 1,380,872 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,972,326. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $32.18 and a 52-week high of $40.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.05 and its 200-day moving average is $38.21.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 8.22%. Analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.