Farmers Trust Co. Makes New $273,000 Investment in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Farmers Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 14.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,928,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,009,615,000 after purchasing an additional 9,773,785 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,423,000 after acquiring an additional 218,165 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,930,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $344,908,000 after acquiring an additional 82,482 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.0% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $136,152,000 after acquiring an additional 69,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 7.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,725,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,288,000 after acquiring an additional 193,540 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of FE traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $43.46. 2,998,902 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,961,560. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.39. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $32.97 and a 1 year high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.55.

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.