FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stake

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its FirstEnergy stake by 3.3% in the third quarter, selling 38,053 shares; it still held 1.11 million shares valued at about $48.1 million.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $50.77; eight analysts rate the stock Buy and four rate it Hold.
• FirstEnergy beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.98 per share versus a $0.90 estimate, and announced a $0.465 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.9% yield.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,108,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,053 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of FirstEnergy worth $48,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 694,449 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,396,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $273,377,000 after buying an additional 573,731 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 103.2% during the first quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,991,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $151,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,737 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in FirstEnergy by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,627,745 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $133,116,000 after purchasing an additional 35,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 6.4% during the first quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 2,621,338 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $132,797,000 after buying an additional 156,920 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FE. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC started coverage on FirstEnergy in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.77.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE stock opened at $47.16 on Thursday. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $42.67 and a 12 month high of $52.34. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market cap of $27.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.39.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The business's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a $0.4650 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.42%.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. NYSE: FE is an electric utility company focused on the transmission and distribution of electricity. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers power to residential, commercial and industrial customers and maintains the poles, lines, substations and other infrastructure that support electric service.

FirstEnergy's distribution operations serve customers across parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland. Its utility companies include Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison, Jersey Central Power & Light, Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power, Mon Power and The Potomac Edison Company.

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