FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC decreased its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,126 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 59,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,064,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,357,000 after purchasing an additional 177,199 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $38.70 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.18 and a 52 week high of $40.42.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 94.25%.

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.