Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 303.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,115 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FE. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FE. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 1.5 %

FE opened at $43.41 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a one year low of $34.91 and a one year high of $44.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.57%.

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.