Wells Fargo & Company MN Has $28.87 Million Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Wells Fargo & Company MN reduced its position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 83.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 725,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,762,668 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.13% of FirstEnergy worth $28,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 32,957 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 57.6% in the fourth quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 45,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,801,000 after buying an additional 16,547 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth $9,789,000. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth $398,000. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $528,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

NYSE FE traded up $1.19 on Thursday, reaching $41.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,262,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,439,236. The firm's 50 day moving average is $39.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.22 billion, a PE ratio of 27.08, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.92 and a twelve month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. 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 4.24%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.17.

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.