FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,231 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FE. Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 35.0% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 77,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after buying an additional 20,100 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $430,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 5.7% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $44.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $25.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $32.18 and a 12 month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

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.