Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 6,196 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,058,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $42,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at 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 valued at $104,057,000 after acquiring an additional 171,955 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the third quarter valued at $1,154,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew 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 acquiring an additional 14,129 shares during the period. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at $664,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of FE opened at $38.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.61.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on FE shares. Wolfe Research cut FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.33.

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.