OLD Republic International Corp Takes Position in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE)

OLD Republic International Corp purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 521,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $21,079,000. OLD Republic International Corp owned 0.09% of FirstEnergy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balanced Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.5% during the first quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Tranquility Partners LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the first quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 18,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.71. 659,099 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,971,094. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.47. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at FirstEnergy

In other FirstEnergy news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total value of $503,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,680.51. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 99,919 shares in the company, valued at $4,299,514.57. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FE shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho set a $43.00 price objective on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on shares of FirstEnergy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.