PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 16,018 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,018 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $3,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FE. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 327.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth $45,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE FE opened at $38.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy Corp. has a twelve month low of $32.18 and a twelve month high of $40.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 8.22%. Sell-side analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FE shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.