FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 365 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,198,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 7.9% in the third 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. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth $1,154,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in FirstEnergy by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 14,129 shares during the period. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $664,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FE shares. Scotiabank raised FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $40.68 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $36.01 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The company has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

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.