Soroban Capital Partners LP Has $331.80 Million Stock Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 60.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,340,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,133,083 shares during the period. FirstEnergy accounts for 4.4% of Soroban Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Soroban Capital Partners LP’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $331,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $42.67 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.88 and a 200 day moving average of $40.59.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.68%.

Insider Activity

In other FirstEnergy news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,299,514.57. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on FE shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research cut FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

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.