Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Grows Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FE shares. Scotiabank raised FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE opened at $38.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.01 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.77.

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

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.68%.

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.