Boston Partners Buys 6,991,866 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Boston Partners lifted its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 73.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,503,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,991,866 shares during the period. FirstEnergy comprises approximately 0.8% of Boston Partners' holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Boston Partners owned approximately 2.86% of FirstEnergy worth $656,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FE. Amundi increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 103.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,843,964 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,334,000 after acquiring an additional 939,240 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,069,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,198,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,318,905 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $371,911,000 after purchasing an additional 220,433 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.9% during the third 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 worth $104,057,000 after purchasing an additional 171,955 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.20 on Friday, reaching $39.62. The stock had a trading volume of 7,459,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,121,274. The business's 50-day moving average price is $39.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.34. 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 fifty-two week low of $36.81 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is presently 104.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.00.

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.