abrdn plc Increases Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 880,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,646 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.15% of FirstEnergy worth $34,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FE. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 37.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,493 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 13,195 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 36,488 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $832,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.8% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 5,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 13.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE:FE traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.17. 4,045,275 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,835,380. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $35.41 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is 109.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.