United Asset Strategies Inc. Boosts Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,936 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 13,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 17,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $36.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.92. The firm has a market cap of $21.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $32.18 and a 12-month high of $41.17.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The business’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 90.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.38.

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.