Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 282,866 Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its FirstEnergy stake by 32.9% in the second quarter, adding 282,866 shares to own 1.14 million shares valued at approximately $54.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 89.41% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on FirstEnergy, with seven Buy ratings and six Holds and an average price target of $52.83.
• FirstEnergy reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, matching estimates, while revenue of $3.68 billion exceeded expectations. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.465 per share, representing a 4.0% annualized yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,141,365 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 282,866 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.20% of FirstEnergy worth $54,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 89.1% in the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 197,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,556,000 after purchasing an additional 92,954 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 8.1% during the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 12,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.8% during the second quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 54,804 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,605,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $247,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its position in FirstEnergy by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 32,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 3,577 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen raised FirstEnergy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $56.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.83.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $46.73 on Thursday. FirstEnergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $42.87 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $47.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.31.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.465 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is 98.94%.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. NYSE: FE is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company's primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy's service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy's core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.

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