Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,181 Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) by 48.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,181 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on FirstEnergy and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays raised FirstEnergy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $43.00 to $49.00 in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.31.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of FE opened at $43.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $44.78.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 9.31%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 78.76%.

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.