Bank of Hawaii Purchases 3,206 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Bank of Hawaii raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE:FE opened at $39.47 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $36.81 and a twelve month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.15.

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.