Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Has $288,000 Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 214.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after acquiring an additional 50,176 shares in the last quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 83,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 4,765 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Finally, True Link Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth $283,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $44.47. 160,367 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,911,648. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $25.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $34.91 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.86.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.56. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FE. Argus upgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.