IFM Investors Pty Ltd Reduces Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd cut its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 202,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,521 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $9,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FE. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FE stock opened at $44.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.43. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $34.91 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.86. The company has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.57%.

FirstEnergy Company 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.