FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Shares Bought by Energy Income Partners LLC

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners increased its FirstEnergy stake by 12% in the first quarter, purchasing 204,138 additional shares to hold 1.9 million shares valued at approximately $96.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.41% of FE.
• FirstEnergy reported quarterly EPS of $0.72, in line with estimates, while revenue rose 11.6% year over year to $4.20 billion. Shares opened at $49.36, within a 12-month range of $41.30 to $52.34.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.465, equivalent to an annualized $1.86 and a 3.8% yield. Analysts give FirstEnergy a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $52.92.

Energy Income Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,900,897 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 204,138 shares during the period. FirstEnergy makes up about 1.5% of Energy Income Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Energy Income Partners LLC owned about 0.33% of FirstEnergy worth $96,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,109,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,049,255,000 after purchasing an additional 761,157 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in FirstEnergy by 13.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,344,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $841,161,000 after buying an additional 2,185,400 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,463,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $600,351,000 after buying an additional 126,834 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,722,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $524,815,000 after buying an additional 34,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,971,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $508,158,000 after acquiring an additional 694,449 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $49.36 on Tuesday. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $41.30 and a 12-month high of $52.34. The stock has a market cap of $28.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.16.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.72. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 101.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. New Street Research set a $52.00 price target on FirstEnergy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen raised FirstEnergy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $53.00 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded FirstEnergy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.92.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. NYSE: FE is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company's primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy's service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy's core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.

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