Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 95.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 157,666 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of FirstEnergy worth $12,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 38,301 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.6% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,924 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $146,000. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 112.2% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 11,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 5,942 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,220,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,542,065. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.78. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.01 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded FirstEnergy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.27.

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.