Qsemble Capital Management LP Boosts Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 72.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,156 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FE. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,928,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,009,615,000 after acquiring an additional 9,773,785 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,423,000 after purchasing an additional 218,165 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,930,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $344,908,000 after purchasing an additional 82,482 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,152,000 after purchasing an additional 69,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,454,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,637,000 after buying an additional 590,815 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FE stock opened at $44.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The firm has a market cap of $25.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.74.

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

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.82%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.