Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 110.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,729 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 214.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after buying an additional 50,176 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 83,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after buying an additional 4,765 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 20.8% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 961 shares during the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the first quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 2,741.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 295,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,429,000 after buying an additional 285,522 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of FE stock opened at $44.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.86. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $34.91 and a 1-year high of $44.97.

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

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 120.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

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.