Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Boosts Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 204.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,965 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $454,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% in the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $43.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. 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 one year low of $32.18 and a one year high of $44.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.88.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on FE shares. Barclays raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Scotiabank raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.60.

FirstEnergy Company 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.