BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 13,393 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp reduced its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,393 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $4,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,417.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 743,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,965,000 after buying an additional 694,313 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after acquiring an additional 457,231 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at $14,933,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,178.5% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 286,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,977,000 after acquiring an additional 264,389 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,445.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 219,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,732,000 after purchasing an additional 214,606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FE stock opened at $41.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $35.41 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The firm has a market cap of $23.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.56.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FE. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. 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, Seaport Res Ptn lowered FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.91.

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.