BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Makes New Investment in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,208 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FE. Capital International Inc. CA increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 322,731 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,838,000 after purchasing an additional 95,078 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,018,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,302,000 after acquiring an additional 64,491 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,078,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,899,000 after acquiring an additional 45,538 shares during the last quarter. Broadleaf Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 42,409 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of FirstEnergy stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.91. 503,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,546,806. 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 firm has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.24 and its 200 day moving average is $40.67.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is presently 94.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FE shares. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus 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.