Franklin Resources Inc. Has $133.42 Million Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,354,031 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 191,970 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of FirstEnergy worth $133,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 73.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 16,503,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $656,309,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,866 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 103.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,843,964 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,334,000 after buying an additional 939,240 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,069,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,843,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,619,270,000 after acquiring an additional 508,570 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth about $12,198,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE traded down $0.48 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.89. 2,281,702 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,338,332. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.81 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.98.

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FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.15.

FirstEnergy Company 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.