FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation by 26.4%, selling 25,989 shares, which leaves them with 72,269 shares valued at approximately $2.92 million.
• FirstEnergy's stock price recently reached $41.80 with a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, and has a 52-week trading range between $37.58 and $44.97.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share with an annualized yield of 4.26%, and a payout ratio of 94.68%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 25,989 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 226.9% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 143.6% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 179.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,192 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of FE traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,138,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,007,621. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $24.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.40% and a net margin of 9.31%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on shares of FirstEnergy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. 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. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.08.

Insider Transactions at FirstEnergy

In related news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total transaction of $503,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,680.51. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 99,919 shares of the company's stock, 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.

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.