Principal Securities Inc. Has $114,000 Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,198,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,318,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,911,000 after purchasing an additional 220,433 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 4,445.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 219,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,732,000 after purchasing an additional 214,606 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,057,000 after buying an additional 171,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 95.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 323,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,852,000 after buying an additional 157,666 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $43.51 on Wednesday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.01 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.02 and its 200 day moving average is $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank upgraded FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research cut FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.27.

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.