FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Stock Holdings Lowered by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,152 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $39.62 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.95 and its 200-day moving average is $41.32. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $36.81 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The firm has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. 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 (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 104.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.