Osaic Holdings Inc. Buys 70,996 Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) by 77.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 70,996 shares during the quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $6,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.6% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 84,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 418.0% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 270,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,878,000 after buying an additional 218,020 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in FirstEnergy by 52.7% during the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,716,000 after buying an additional 14,718 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 1,379.5% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 114,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,628,000 after acquiring an additional 107,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 218.6% in the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 62,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after acquiring an additional 42,700 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.9%

FE stock opened at $44.22 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.75. FirstEnergy Corporation has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $48.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.74.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on FE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of FirstEnergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.