Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 983,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,119 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $36,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 72,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,641,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.95 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.02 and its 200 day moving average is $37.27. The stock has a market cap of $22.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corp. has a one year low of $32.18 and a one year high of $40.42.

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

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. 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 yield of 4.36%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.