Jennison Associates LLC Sells 238,450 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,451,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 238,450 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $57,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FE. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 37.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 13,195 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 36,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter worth $832,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.8% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,631,000 after buying an additional 5,713 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE opened at $40.01 on Tuesday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $35.41 and a twelve month high of $44.97. The company has a market capitalization of $23.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.84.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FE. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn cut FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.27.

About FirstEnergy

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.