ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Buys New Shares in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 246,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,789,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of FE stock opened at $39.38 on Friday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $36.81 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its 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 net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. 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.