Calamos Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 194,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,547 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $7,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 549.0% during the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $41.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.99. The firm has a market cap of $21.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. FirstEnergy’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.67 earnings per share 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 given a $0.425 dividend. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FE. StockNews.com cut FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.38.

About FirstEnergy

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.