Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,290 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 586,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,290 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of FirstEnergy worth $22,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FE opened at $43.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.49. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $32.18 and a 1-year high of $44.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.56. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on FE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.27.

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.