FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,965 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1,417.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 743,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,965,000 after purchasing an additional 694,313 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after buying an additional 457,231 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,933,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,178.5% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 286,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,977,000 after buying an additional 264,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,423,000 after acquiring an additional 218,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $42.04 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $35.41 and a 12-month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FE shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.91.

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.