Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 3,301 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 30.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,301 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $41.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $34.92 and a twelve month high of $44.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.05. The firm has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.06). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus upgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus 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.