Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 11,438 Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation by 19.9%, owning 46,157 shares valued at approximately $1.87 million after selling 11,438 shares in the first quarter.
• FirstEnergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445, equating to an annual yield of 4.1%, with an expected payout ratio of 78.76%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on FirstEnergy, with a consensus price target of $46.31, and seven analysts rating it as a Buy while eight have given it a Hold rating.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,438 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 14.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 71,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,883,000 after buying an additional 8,879 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 9.0% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 17,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $256,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 29.7% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,684 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $44.00 price target 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 report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $46.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.31.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $43.39. 2,305,028 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,834,993. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy Corporation has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during 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 company posted $0.56 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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

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.