Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 206,000 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,981,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 206,000 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.69% of FirstEnergy worth $158,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FE. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FE shares. Bank of America upgraded FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho set a $43.00 price objective on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.3%

FirstEnergy stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.11. 4,250,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,693,801. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $41.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.62. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 99,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,299,514.57. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.