Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $732,000 Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 567 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Balanced Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 44,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 16.2% in the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 2,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE stock opened at $41.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $35.41 and a 52-week high of $44.97.

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

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 109.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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