Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.4 %

FE stock opened at $42.87 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.77. 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 fifty-two week low of $36.01 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 109.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

FirstEnergy 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.