Benjamin Edwards Inc. Takes Position in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has made a new investment of approximately $276,000 in FirstEnergy Corporation by acquiring 6,838 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Soroban Capital Partners, have significantly increased their stakes in FirstEnergy, resulting in institutional ownership of 89.41% of the company’s stock.
• FirstEnergy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, with a scheduled payment date on September 1st and a dividend yield of 4.1%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 226.9% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 143.6% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE traded up $0.1050 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.5250. 1,264,002 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,899,315. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 9.31%.The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. Analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is presently 78.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FE. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America raised shares of FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on shares of FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstEnergy news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total value of $503,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,680.51. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.