384,527 Shares in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 384,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,296,000. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.07% of FirstEnergy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Balanced Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 7,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $41.70. 1,156,459 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,471,506. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $44.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.69. 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 capitalization of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FE shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.17.

About FirstEnergy

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.