CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Has $284,000 Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC reduced its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 554 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $39.38 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.81 and a 52-week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. On average, equities analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 104.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

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.