The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 0.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,235,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.21% of FirstEnergy worth $54,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 36.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 48.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on FE shares. Barclays lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research 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 company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.91.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $42.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $35.41 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.77 and a 200-day moving average of $41.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

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.