Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $16.43 Million Position in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Key Points

• Wedge Capital trimmed its stake in FirstEnergy by 7.6% in Q4, selling 30,322 shares and leaving a 366,887-share position valued at about $16.43 million; institutional investors now own roughly 89.41% of the stock.
• FirstEnergy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.465 (annualized $1.86, yield ~3.7%), but the payout ratio is about 101.14%, which raises sustainability concerns.
• The company beat Q results with $0.53 EPS (vs. $0.52 est.) and $3.80B revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $2.62–$2.82 EPS, and the Street consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $49.71 average price target.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,322 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.06% of FirstEnergy worth $16,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.3% in the second quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 23,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.0% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 3.1% during the third quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 8,779 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in FirstEnergy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 17,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $51.00 target price on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.71.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $50.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.76. FirstEnergy Corporation has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $52.29.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 10.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.620-2.820 EPS. Analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be issued a $0.465 dividend. This is a boost from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 26,800 shares of FirstEnergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.94, for a total transaction of $1,365,192.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 119,552 shares in the company, valued at $6,089,978.88. The trade was a 18.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 1,373 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $69,803.32. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,118 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,532. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. NYSE: FE is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company's primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy's service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy's core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.