South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 16,871 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,871 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,198,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 7.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,057,000 after acquiring an additional 171,955 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth $1,154,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in FirstEnergy by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares during the period. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $664,000. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $42.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.77. 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 Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.01 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 109.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FE. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.27.

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.