Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Buys Shares of 72,927 FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation purchased a new stake of 72,927 shares in FirstEnergy Corporation valued at approximately $2.95 million during the first quarter.
• FirstEnergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, with a yield of 4.1%, to be paid on September 1st.
• Analysts have set an average target price of $46.08 for FirstEnergy's stock, with ratings including nine holds and six buys.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 72,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,948,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of FE traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,273,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,943,279. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 9.31%. The business 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 EPS. Research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,680.51. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

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.