Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stake in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation by 7.8% during Q2, now owning approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $18.67 million.
• FirstEnergy's stock received several target price adjustments from analysts, with Barclays raising its target from $43.00 to $49.00 and others maintaining neutral to overweight ratings.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, translating to an annual yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 78.76%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 463,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,674 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.08% of FirstEnergy worth $18,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $256,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $1,225,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,970 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upgraded FirstEnergy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on FirstEnergy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE FE opened at $43.37 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $42.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.51. FirstEnergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $44.58. The company has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.76%.

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.

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