Empowered Funds LLC Buys New Holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 28,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,359,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FE. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $858,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth approximately $755,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth $8,324,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth $835,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth $7,231,000. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $46.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.23. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $42.87 and a 12-month high of $52.34.

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

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FE. UBS Group raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, TD Cowen raised FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.83.

FirstEnergy Profile

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.