Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 80,802 Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 359,028 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 80,802 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of FirstEnergy worth $14,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 48,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,933,000 after buying an additional 17,506 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,315 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 14.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 71,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 8,879 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,584,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho set a $43.00 price target on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America upgraded FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on FirstEnergy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.3%

FE stock opened at $40.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.39. FirstEnergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.01 and a 200-day moving average of $40.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 7.78%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other FirstEnergy news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $516,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 99,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,299,514.57. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total value of $503,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,680.51. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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