Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 58,338 Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation by 58.5% during the first quarter, now owning 158,067 shares valued at approximately $6.39 million.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for FirstEnergy, with Guggenheim raising its target from $45 to $47 and Mizuho increasing its target from $43 to $45, while maintaining a consensus rating of "Hold."
• FirstEnergy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share to be paid on September 1st, representing an annual yield of 4.1%.

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 58.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 158,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,338 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $6,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 226.9% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Tsfg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 143.6% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 179.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,192 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at FirstEnergy

In related news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total transaction of $503,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of FirstEnergy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 99,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,299,514.57. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on FirstEnergy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Guggenheim raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE FE traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $43.83. 4,202,400 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,026,771. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.48. The business's fifty day moving average price is $40.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.67.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 9.31%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

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

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.