Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,324 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FE. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,928,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,009,615,000 after purchasing an additional 9,773,785 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,423,000 after buying an additional 218,165 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after buying an additional 457,231 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.0% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,152,000 after acquiring an additional 69,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,725,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,288,000 after acquiring an additional 193,540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $41.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.07 and a 200-day moving average of $41.38. The company has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.