FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Stock Position Increased by Horizon Investments LLC

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 10.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 34,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $123,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter worth about $590,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 86,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,839,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on FE shares. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.17.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $39.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.37. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.81 and a 52-week high of $44.97. 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 (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.