FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Shares Bought by Vident Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stakes in FirstEnergy Corporation by 183.3%, purchasing an additional 27,641 shares to reach a total of 42,722 shares valued at $1,727,000.
• FirstEnergy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.52, surpassing estimates and has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 78.76%.

Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 183.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,641 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 226.9% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 143.6% in the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.44. 2,504,082 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,200,262. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.27. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $44.78. The firm has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 9.31%.The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on FE shares. Barclays upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $49.00 in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group set a $44.00 price target on shares of FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.31.

About FirstEnergy

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.