Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $8.20 Million Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,791 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $8,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Balanced Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 59.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 7,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $40.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.90 and its 200 day moving average is $41.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.81 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 104.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

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.