Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New $4.25 Million Investment in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 106,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,253,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 39,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 215,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,591,000 after purchasing an additional 8,871 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Navalign LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 20,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $48.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of FirstEnergy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total transaction of $503,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,680.51. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.25. 4,795,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,713,207. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42.

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 firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is a boost from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.68%.

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.