Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 25,700 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 213,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,700 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $8,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.27.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $32.18 and a 52 week high of $44.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.32.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.70%.

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.