HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 7,938 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,938 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $6,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FE. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at 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. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $39.90 on Wednesday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. Research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FE. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Guggenheim cut 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.33.

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.