Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Grows Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,600 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $4,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,144,000. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 1,036,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,994,000 after acquiring an additional 25,111 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 79,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 12,704 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 76,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 24,953 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 4,376 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $36.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $41.17.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.38.

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.