FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,586 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $3,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 59.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $39.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.26 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on FE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. KeyCorp lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim decreased their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.33.

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.