Northern Trust Corp Decreases Holdings 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 lessened its holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & 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 SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 60.2% in the 4th quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 8,340,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $331,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133,083 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,962,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $767,952,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,779 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 133,614.8% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,310,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308,864 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,169,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 4,918,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $195,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:FE traded up $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,218,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,929,149. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.71 and its 200 day moving average is $41.11. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $25.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FE. Barclays raised shares of FirstEnergy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Monday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $44.00 price objective on shares of FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.31.

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.