FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,578 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,071 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $11,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.7 %

FE traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $38.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,708,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,384,700. The stock has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.81 and a fifty-two 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. The business's 50-day moving average is $39.87 and its 200-day moving average is $40.89.

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FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 4.63%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is 104.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.15.

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.