Allstate Corp Makes New $678,000 Investment in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 109,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,859,000 after buying an additional 5,535 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 89,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,057,000 after purchasing an additional 171,955 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 38,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.9 %

FE opened at $40.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.09. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.81 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.71%.

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.