Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Acquires 15,507 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,112,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,507 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $44,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balanced Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the 3rd 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 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE FE opened at $42.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.77. 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 Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.01 and a 52 week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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

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.