23,506 FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Shares Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One reduced its FirstEnergy stake by 5.9% in the third quarter, selling 23,506 shares and retaining 372,695 shares valued at approximately $16.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 89.41% of the utility company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with eight Buy ratings and four Holds, producing a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.77.
• FirstEnergy exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.98 in earnings per share and $4.56 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.465 per share, equivalent to a 4.0% annualized yield.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its position in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 372,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,506 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.06% of FirstEnergy worth $16,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,878,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6,066.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 495,299 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,547,000 after purchasing an additional 487,267 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the second quarter worth approximately $1,033,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in FirstEnergy by 612.9% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 93,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,441,000 after buying an additional 80,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 32.9% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,141,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,332,000 after buying an additional 282,866 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstEnergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. HSBC started coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. New Street Research set a $47.00 price target on FirstEnergy in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.77.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $46.95 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.50. FirstEnergy Corporation has a one year low of $42.67 and a one year high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The company's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a $0.4650 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.94%.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. NYSE: FE is an electric utility company focused on the transmission and distribution of electricity. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers power to residential, commercial and industrial customers and maintains the poles, lines, substations and other infrastructure that support electric service.

FirstEnergy's distribution operations serve customers across parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland. Its utility companies include Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison, Jersey Central Power & Light, Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power, Mon Power and The Potomac Edison Company.

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