Richardson Financial Services Inc. Lowers Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FE. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after buying an additional 457,231 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,546,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,081,000 after acquiring an additional 34,151 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,057,000 after acquiring an additional 171,955 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in FirstEnergy by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,622,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 854,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,906,000 after purchasing an additional 17,462 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.3 %

FE stock opened at $39.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $35.41 and a 52-week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research downgraded FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.27.

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.