Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 18,234 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 217,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,234 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $8,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on FE. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of FE stock opened at $40.60 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.93 and a 200 day moving average of $41.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.81 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 104.71%.

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.