Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $1.92 Million Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,357 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 59.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of FE opened at $39.84 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97. 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 (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.33.

FirstEnergy Company 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.