FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Holdings Cut by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its position in FirstEnergy by 5.8%, now holding approximately 1.29 million shares valued at $52.1 million.
• FirstEnergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, which reflects a 4.1% yield and a payout ratio of 78.76%.
• Several analysts have upgraded FirstEnergy's rating, with the average price target now set at $46.08, indicating a consensus rating of "Hold."

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,289,491 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 79,117 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of FirstEnergy worth $52,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FE. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:FE traded up $0.1440 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.5640. The stock had a trading volume of 3,559,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,070,096. The company has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $41.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.76%.

Insider Transactions at FirstEnergy

In other FirstEnergy news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total value of $503,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,680.51. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FE shares. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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.