State of Michigan Retirement System Boosts Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 0.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 141,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $5,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $43.34 on Tuesday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $32.18 and a 52-week high of $43.65. The company has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 97.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.55.

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.