New England Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

New England Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,330 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $4,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $12,198,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 48,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 17,506 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $664,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 6,689.2% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 10,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 10,569 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $41.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.61.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 94.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of FirstEnergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,919 shares in the company, valued at $4,299,514.57. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on FE shares. Wolfe Research cut FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho set a $43.00 price target on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.