Zions Bancorporation N.A. Reduces Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. cut its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 45.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,669 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,198,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,057,000 after purchasing an additional 171,955 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 14,129 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $664,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 16.8% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 186,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,267,000 after acquiring an additional 26,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:FE opened at $38.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corp. has a one year low of $36.81 and a one year high of $44.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.20.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. Sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS 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 issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.71%.

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.