GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Shares in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $177,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FE. Czech National Bank raised its position in FirstEnergy by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 90,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 25,769 shares during the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 17,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. Toews Corp ADV bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter worth $766,000. Xponance Inc. raised its position in FirstEnergy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 69,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 499,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,074,000 after acquiring an additional 38,520 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $38.13 on Friday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $32.18 and a twelve month high of $41.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.12. The company has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 94.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FE. StockNews.com lowered FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.80.

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.