Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $47.15 Million Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,286,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,689 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.22% of FirstEnergy worth $47,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FE. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 549.0% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FE has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.38.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE:FE opened at $38.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.73 and a 200-day moving average of $36.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09 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 twelve month low of $32.18 and a twelve month high of $41.17.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 13.52%. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 90.61%.

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.