Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,152 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,152 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $39.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.32. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97.

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

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FE. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

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.