Strs Ohio Has $1.92 Million Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Strs Ohio reduced its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 52,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,657 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 549.0% in the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $38.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.73 and its 200 day moving average is $36.99. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.18 and a 52 week high of $41.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.48.

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

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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