FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Stake Cut by Sasco Capital Inc. CT

Sasco Capital Inc. CT decreased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 509,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 90,770 shares during the period. FirstEnergy makes up approximately 3.4% of Sasco Capital Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Sasco Capital Inc. CT owned approximately 0.09% of FirstEnergy worth $22,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 10,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 201.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 12,108 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth about $211,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 95.1% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 46,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,785,000 after purchasing an additional 22,527 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 22,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 9,372 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.4 %

FE stock opened at $41.69 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $35.41 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

FirstEnergy 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.