FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance lessened its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Balanced Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 36.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.7% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 44,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

NYSE FE opened at $42.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.49. 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 company has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.51. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. FirstEnergy’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 109.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FE. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.91.

About FirstEnergy

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.