Entropy Technologies LP Trims Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP significantly reduced its position in FirstEnergy Corporation by 76.5%, selling 41,668 shares and retaining only 12,789 shares, valued at approximately $517,000.
• FirstEnergy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, which represents an annual yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 78.76%.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.52 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, despite a decrease from the previous year's $0.56.

Entropy Technologies LP decreased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 76.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 41,668 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd increased its position in FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 226.9% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,283,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,961,211. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 183 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FE. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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.