FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.1% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 292,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,967,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 854,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,906,000 after acquiring an additional 17,462 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the third quarter valued at about $322,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $754,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of FE stock opened at $41.23 on Friday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $34.92 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.51 and its 200-day moving average is $41.19. The stock has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51.

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

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 109.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

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.