United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Invests $858,000 in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 18,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $858,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 11,305.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,974,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,673 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 85,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 25,571 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in FirstEnergy by 6,066.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 495,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,547,000 after purchasing an additional 487,267 shares during the period. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,172,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,878,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FE. Weiss Ratings cut FirstEnergy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wolfe Research cut FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $56.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.83.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE:FE opened at $45.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.46. FirstEnergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $42.87 and a 52-week high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.465 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.94%.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.