FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,052,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,945 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.18% of FirstEnergy worth $46,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $41.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.51. 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 twelve month low of $35.41 and a twelve month high of $44.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.30.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on FE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

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.