Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Reduces Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 9,773,785 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,423,000 after purchasing an additional 218,165 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,930,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $344,908,000 after purchasing an additional 82,482 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69,512 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 193,540 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE FE opened at $42.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.35 and a 200-day moving average of $40.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $34.18 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The firm has a market cap of $24.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50.

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

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FE. Scotiabank upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Argus raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.09.

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.