FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,540 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 327.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FE opened at $39.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.12 and a 200-day moving average of $37.32. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $32.18 and a 52-week high of $40.42.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.70%.

FirstEnergy 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.