Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 68,738 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 314,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 68,738 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.05% of FirstEnergy worth $12,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at FirstEnergy

In other FirstEnergy news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 99,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,299,514.57. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock traded up $1.29 on Thursday, hitting $42.43. The stock had a trading volume of 6,339,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,647,238. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $40.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.62. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is 94.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.