FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Holdings Lifted by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,857 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $4,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth approximately $596,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 85,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after buying an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 339,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,990,000 after buying an additional 11,274 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 204.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 11,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 7,965 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,896,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,570,000 after acquiring an additional 104,253 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $39.20 on Thursday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $35.41 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 109.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FE. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.27.

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.