Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 1,002 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4.4% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the second quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 44,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $43.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.67 and a 200-day moving average of $40.88. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $34.91 and a 52-week high of $44.97. 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 (NYSE:FE) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 120.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

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.