Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Stake in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) by 14.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 304,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 51,402 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $14,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 43,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.8% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $46.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.32. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $42.72 and a 12-month high of $52.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.46.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.465 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 98.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FE. TD Cowen upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. New Street Research set a $52.00 price objective on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.83.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.