Truist Financial Corp Sells 3,823 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,456 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,823 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $2,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 499,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,074,000 after buying an additional 38,520 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 79,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after buying an additional 7,941 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 172,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,907,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 26,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE stock opened at $39.47 on Thursday. FirstEnergy Corp. has a one year low of $32.18 and a one year high of $40.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.07 and its 200 day moving average is $37.30. The company has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 97.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FE shares. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.80.

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.