FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Acquired by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position 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. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FE. UBS Group increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered 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 report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FE opened at $39.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.97 and a 200-day moving average of $41.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.81 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

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

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.52%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 104.71%.

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.