New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 19,500 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $10,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $42.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.77. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52-week low of $36.01 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wolfe Research cut FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.27.

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.