UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,643,521 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 297,258 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.46% of FirstEnergy worth $105,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 1,174,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,720,000 after purchasing an additional 360,592 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 9,970 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,948,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,225,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 4,918,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $195,672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232,040 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:FE traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.10. 3,535,328 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,693,166. The firm's fifty day moving average is $41.23 and its 200-day moving average is $40.62. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. FirstEnergy's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America upgraded FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $48.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Insider Activity

In other FirstEnergy news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 99,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,299,514.57. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.