Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Increases Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 95,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $3,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 68,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,958,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 32,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 12,050 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 1,112,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,254,000 after purchasing an additional 15,507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Scotiabank reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.33.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.01 and a twelve month high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.07 and its 200 day moving average is $41.74.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.