Northern Trust Corp Trims Stake in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation by 1.4%, selling 65,900 shares and now holding 4,540,858 shares valued at $183.5 million.
• FirstEnergy has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 78.76%.
• The stock received mixed analyst ratings, with six analysts issuing a "Buy" and nine "Hold," as the average price target sits at $46.08.

Northern Trust Corp cut its position in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,540,858 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 65,900 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.79% of FirstEnergy worth $183,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FE. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 8,340,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $331,795,000 after buying an additional 3,133,083 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 14.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,962,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $767,952,000 after buying an additional 2,459,779 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 133,614.8% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,310,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,394,000 after buying an additional 2,308,864 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the first quarter valued at $53,169,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 4,918,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $195,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,040 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FE. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on FirstEnergy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $46.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.08.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:FE traded up $0.2650 on Friday, hitting $43.7450. 2,959,152 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,926,687. The firm's 50-day moving average is $41.47 and its 200 day moving average is $41.04. The company has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.61.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 9.31%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.76%.

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.