Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 24,953 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 48.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 76,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,953 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FE. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 549.0% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE FE opened at $37.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $32.18 and a 12-month high of $41.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.93.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on FE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.38.

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.