Inceptionr LLC Has $2.01 Million Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Inceptionr LLC lifted its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 145.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,921 shares during the quarter. FirstEnergy comprises approximately 0.4% of Inceptionr LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,318,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $371,911,000 after buying an additional 220,433 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,546,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,081,000 after buying an additional 34,151 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,402,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $135,334,000 after buying an additional 105,408 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 7.9% during the 3rd 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 valued at $104,057,000 after purchasing an additional 171,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,622,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $38.57 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.68. 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 fifty-two week low of $36.81 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.33.

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.