FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 421,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 71,925 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.07% of FirstEnergy worth $16,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FE. Scotiabank reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. 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. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.15.

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FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:FE traded up $0.28 on Tuesday, reaching $38.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,026,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,354,978. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $22.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.93 and a 200 day moving average of $40.95.

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 net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. On average, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is 104.71%.

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.