Wallace Advisory Group LLC Sells 430 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Wallace Advisory Group LLC cut its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 5,713 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the second quarter worth approximately $832,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.46. 2,998,902 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,961,560. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.39. 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 firm has a market cap of $25.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.97 and a 52 week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.55.

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.