UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 14,150 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,072,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,150 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.19% of FirstEnergy worth $42,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FE. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,198,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,057,000 after purchasing an additional 171,955 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 41.8% in 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 buying an additional 14,129 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $664,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 186,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,267,000 after buying an additional 26,874 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:FE opened at $38.44 on Thursday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.81 and a twelve month high of $44.97. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS 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 business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 104.71%.

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.