Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FE. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:FE opened at $41.51 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.36. The stock has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

FirstEnergy Profile

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.