Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 9,169 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,169 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,928,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,009,615,000 after buying an additional 9,773,785 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,423,000 after acquiring an additional 218,165 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after acquiring an additional 457,231 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.0% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,152,000 after purchasing an additional 69,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 7.6% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,725,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,288,000 after purchasing an additional 193,540 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $43.41 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.88. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $34.91 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $25.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on FE shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 report on Thursday, August 29th. Argus raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.