Intech Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,223 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 34,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter worth $590,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 86,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,839,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 99,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 14,606 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $39.62 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $36.81 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.32. 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.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.