Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $39.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.37. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.17.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

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.