SpiderRock Advisors LLC Buys 386 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. SpiderRock Advisors LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FE. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter worth about $253,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 617,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,398,000 after acquiring an additional 30,769 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 7,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 130,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,799,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

NYSE:FE traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $41.56. The company had a trading volume of 556,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,942,362. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.14. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $34.92 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Argus raised FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

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.