Diversify Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,533 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on FE. 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. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.55.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.2 %

FE stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,887,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,001,610. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $32.18 and a 52-week high of $43.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.59.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

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.