FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Holdings Trimmed by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in FirstEnergy Corporation by 17.2%, holding 260,996 shares worth approximately $10.55 million after selling 54,208 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including EP Wealth Advisors LLC and Royal Bank of Canada, have increased their stakes in FirstEnergy, indicating a trend among institutional investors.
• FirstEnergy's recently disclosed quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share represents a yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 78.76%.

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 260,996 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 54,208 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $10,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,098,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $165,674,000 after purchasing an additional 116,825 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 367,935 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,872,000 after buying an additional 16,669 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $293,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 8,578 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.80. 2,766,595 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,282,178. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $44.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.31. The stock has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 9.31%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on FirstEnergy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays raised FirstEnergy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $43.00 to $49.00 in a report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.31.

FirstEnergy Company 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.