Fourpath Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Fourpath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FE. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at FirstEnergy

In related news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 99,919 shares in the company, valued at $4,299,514.57. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of FE traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.12. 14,783,034 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,815,709. The stock has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FE shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

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.