Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,546,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 34,151 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.62% of FirstEnergy worth $153,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. West Oak Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE FE traded down $0.35 on Monday, hitting $39.93. 2,636,931 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,899,547. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $35.41 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $42.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is presently 109.68%.

About FirstEnergy

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.