FirstEnergy Corporation $FE Stock: Alps Advisors Inc. Increases Stake

Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 680,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,877 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of FirstEnergy worth $29,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FE. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $791,000. Asset One Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the third quarter worth about $303,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 19.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 14.5% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 5,960 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 11.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 15,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:FE opened at $46.44 on Friday. FirstEnergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $42.67 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.07%. FirstEnergy’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a $0.4650 dividend. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 89.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $54.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. New Street Research set a $47.00 price target on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.77.

FirstEnergy Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is an electric utility company focused on the transmission and distribution of electricity. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers power to residential, commercial and industrial customers and maintains the poles, lines, substations and other infrastructure that support electric service.

FirstEnergy’s distribution operations serve customers across parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland. Its utility companies include Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison, Jersey Central Power & Light, Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power, Mon Power and The Potomac Edison Company.