Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,530 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,530 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 10.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 18,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $809,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 76,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 5,306 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 33.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 40,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after buying an additional 10,073 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $41.69 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.38. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $35.41 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 109.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn cut FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

FirstEnergy 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.