Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Increases Stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 327.3% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.80.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE stock traded down $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.34. The stock had a trading volume of 3,672,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,384,767. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $32.18 and a twelve month high of $40.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.03 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.25%.

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.