Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 59.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 48.4% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FE shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 1.1 %

FirstEnergy stock opened at $40.31 on Wednesday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.50 and its 200-day moving average is $41.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

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.