Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $3.58 Million in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 90,105 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,584,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.62. 7,361,334 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,118,876. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $36.81 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.93 and a 200 day moving average of $41.37.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. On average, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

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.