FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Shares Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al sharply increased its FirstEnergy stake by 329.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 400,800 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 522,600 shares valued at about $23.4 million.
• FirstEnergy reported Q1 earnings of $0.72 per share, matching analyst estimates, while revenue of $4.01 billion topped expectations and rose 11.6% year over year.
• Sentiment on the stock remains mixed: Wolfe Research downgraded FirstEnergy to hold, and the overall analyst consensus is still Hold with a price target of $51.92.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 329.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 522,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 400,800 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.09% of FirstEnergy worth $23,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versor Investments LP grew its position in FirstEnergy by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 19,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co grew its position in FirstEnergy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 54,507 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,440,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 23,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $44.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $25.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.58. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.72. The business had revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.620-2.820 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on FE. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of FirstEnergy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.92.

Insider Activity at FirstEnergy

In related news, Director James F. Oneil sold 7,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.60, for a total transaction of $402,017.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $94,571.40. This represents a 80.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $152,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,176 shares in the company, valued at $364,827.84. The trade was a 29.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,118 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,532. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.