M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stake in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE)

M&T Bank Corp cut its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 147,069 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,877 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $5,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 48,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,933,000 after buying an additional 17,506 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,315 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 8,879 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $3,584,000. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE FE traded up $0.08 on Monday, hitting $40.47. 2,939,215 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,999,490. The company has a market capitalization of $23.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.39. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company's 50-day moving average price is $41.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 7.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FE shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group set a $44.00 price objective on shares of FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho set a $43.00 price objective on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 99,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,299,514.57. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total transaction of $503,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 183 shares in the company, valued at $7,680.51. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

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.