FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 752,015 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,712 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of FirstEnergy worth $29,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balanced Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,741 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.92. 4,082,352 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,837,023. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $40.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.72. 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 stock has a market cap of $23.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $35.41 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded FirstEnergy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.27.

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.