FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Stock Holdings Increased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,527,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 329,049 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.17% of FirstEnergy worth $497,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased 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 purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank reduced their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.15.

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FirstEnergy Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE FE traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.47. The company had a trading volume of 8,709,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,409,565. The firm's 50 day moving average is $39.86 and its 200 day moving average is $40.85. 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 Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.81 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The company has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This is a boost from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.71%.

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.