Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,019 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $7,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,198,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in FirstEnergy by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 48,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 17,506 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in FirstEnergy by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 14,129 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $664,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 6,689.2% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 10,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 10,569 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $42.76 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.67. The stock has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is 94.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Company 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.

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