FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Stock Holdings Increased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 617,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,769 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of FirstEnergy worth $27,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 7,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 130,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,799,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 292,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,967,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 854,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,906,000 after acquiring an additional 17,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $41.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $34.92 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.28.

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

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

About FirstEnergy

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.