Ascent Group LLC Boosts Holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation by 135.6%, owning a total of 93,840 shares worth approximately $3.79 million after acquiring an additional 54,017 shares in the first quarter.
• FirstEnergy reported an EPS of $0.52 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a net margin of 9.31%; however, its revenue was slightly below analysts' expectations at $3.40 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, with an annual yield of 4.1%, and a payout ratio of 78.76%.

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 135.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 93,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 54,017 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $3,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 3.4% in the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.4% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.2% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 5.5% in the first quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays upgraded FirstEnergy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $43.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Mizuho raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.31.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FirstEnergy stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.80. 2,766,595 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,256,355. The company has a market capitalization of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $42.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.32. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $44.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.61.

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

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were 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 was Thursday, August 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.