FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,220,130 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 97,391 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of FirstEnergy worth $54,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,928,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,009,615,000 after acquiring an additional 9,773,785 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $367,423,000 after purchasing an additional 218,165 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $403,517,000 after acquiring an additional 457,231 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.0% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $136,152,000 after purchasing an additional 69,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,725,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $104,288,000 after acquiring an additional 193,540 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.51. The stock had a trading volume of 4,002,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,957,772. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $44.97. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.32. The company has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

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.