The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 0.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,235,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $54,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after purchasing an additional 457,231 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $136,152,000 after purchasing an additional 69,512 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,725,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,288,000 after purchasing an additional 193,540 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,896,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,570,000 after purchasing an additional 104,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,622,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $42.62 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $42.77 and its 200 day moving average is $41.50. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $35.41 and a twelve month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.91.

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.