Greenleaf Trust Purchases 1,344 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,344 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 31.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,827,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $540,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,756,228 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 3.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,573,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $463,950,000 after purchasing an additional 407,350 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 3.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,575,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $293,123,000 after purchasing an additional 306,503 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 447.1% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 372,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,715,000 after purchasing an additional 304,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 27.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,018,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,810,000 after purchasing an additional 218,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.2 %

FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.12 on Wednesday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.17. The stock has a market cap of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 90.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

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.