Ascent Group LLC Sells 41,846 Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 41,846 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 186.4% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FE shares. KeyCorp lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.75.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.3%

FirstEnergy stock opened at $44.83 on Friday. FirstEnergy Corporation has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $48.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.63 and a 200 day moving average of $43.97. 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 cap of $25.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.64.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 77.73%.

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.