FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 238,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 114,608 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $11,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 11,305.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,974,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,673 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 85,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 25,571 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6,066.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 495,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,547,000 after buying an additional 487,267 shares during the last quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at $15,172,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at $9,878,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE FE opened at $45.88 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.29. The company has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.46. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $42.87 and a 1 year high of $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays cut their target price on FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $53.00 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.83.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.