FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Acquires New Shares in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co bought a new position in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,800 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FSLR. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its holdings in shares of First Solar by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 15,500 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $3,866,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Solar by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,125 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,154 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $4,279,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in First Solar by 95.2% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 443 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in First Solar by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Credit Capital Investments LLC now owns 24,700 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.08% of the company’s stock.

First Solar Stock Up 7.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FSLR opened at $195.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.48. First Solar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.88 and a 12-month high of $306.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $216.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $887.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. First Solar had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 32.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Solar, Inc. will post 13.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FSLR. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on First Solar from $311.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First Solar from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down previously from $286.00) on shares of First Solar in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of First Solar from $321.00 to $269.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of First Solar to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.50.

First Solar Profile

First Solar, Inc, a solar technology company, provides photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions in the United States, France, Japan, Chile, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells PV solar modules with a thin film semiconductor technology that provides a lower-carbon alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV solar modules.