Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Increases Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 56,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,305,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,939,000 after buying an additional 85,514 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 8,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FE shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:FE opened at $40.12 on Friday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $35.41 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $23.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.84. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 109.68%.

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.