Teza Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Teza Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 45.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,463 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 33,492 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Balanced Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in FirstEnergy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in FirstEnergy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.3%

FirstEnergy stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,250,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,693,801. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is presently 94.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America raised FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $48.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday. Nine investment 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Insider Activity at FirstEnergy

In related news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,299,514.57. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.