Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 451,585 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 186.4% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth $35,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $44.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.66. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $48.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.81.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.94 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 9.19%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp cut FirstEnergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of FirstEnergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.75.

FirstEnergy Profile

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.