Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 24,953 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 48.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,953 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 549.0% during the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 649 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Certified Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE:FE traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.18. 2,710,047 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,390,063. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $37.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.17.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is 90.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded FirstEnergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.38.

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.