iSAM Funds UK Ltd Sells 36,835 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd lowered its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 80.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,787 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 36,835 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other FirstEnergy news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 99,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,299,514.57. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $42.11. 4,250,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,693,801. 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 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.62. The firm has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42.

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

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FE. Guggenheim boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Mizuho set a $43.00 price target on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America raised shares of FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.00.

FirstEnergy 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.