Credit Agricole S A Purchases 10,720 Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation by 7.7% during the first quarter, holding 149,233 shares worth approximately $6.03 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• FirstEnergy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.78 and a yield of 4.1%, set to be paid on September 1st.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold" for FirstEnergy, with an average price target of $46.08 following updates from several equity research firms.

Credit Agricole S A lifted its position in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 149,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,720 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $6,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 4.5% in the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 11,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth $7,479,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 32.3% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 18,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 4,592 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at $1,546,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth $655,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.4%

FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.62. The stock had a trading volume of 692,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,850,335. The company has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.48. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.11. FirstEnergy Corporation has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $44.97.

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

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $43.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Monday. Mizuho increased their price objective 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 set a $46.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.