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

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,643,521 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 297,258 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.46% of FirstEnergy worth $105,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FE. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the fourth 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. purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstEnergy

In other FirstEnergy news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,919 shares in the company, valued at $4,299,514.57. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $41.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,041,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,127,205. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $44.97. 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 company has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $41.31 and its 200-day moving average is $40.63.

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 (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. FirstEnergy's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is 94.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on FE. Guggenheim raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America raised FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.