Everence Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 50.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,830 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FE shares. Argus raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE stock opened at $39.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a one year low of $35.41 and a one year high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

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.