Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Invests $4.96 Million in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 124,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,958,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at $12,198,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,318,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $371,911,000 after buying an additional 220,433 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 4,445.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 219,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,732,000 after acquiring an additional 214,606 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,057,000 after acquiring an additional 171,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 323,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,852,000 after acquiring an additional 157,666 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.5 %

FE opened at $43.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.78. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $36.01 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FE. Scotiabank raised FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn cut FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Company 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.