Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Cuts Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation by 29.9%, selling 3,166,782 shares, and now holds 7,438,503 shares worth approximately $300.67 million.
• FirstEnergy's quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $0.52, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, while the company set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS.
• FirstEnergy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 78.76%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 29.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,438,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,166,782 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 1.29% of FirstEnergy worth $300,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 226.9% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 143.6% in the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.5%

FE traded down $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $43.55. 1,888,347 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,857,653. FirstEnergy Corporation has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $44.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.11. The company has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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