Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 39,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,401 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 327.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE traded up $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.18. The stock had a trading volume of 776,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,325,549. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1-year low of $32.18 and a 1-year high of $41.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.07.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.56%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 90.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

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.