CCM Investment Advisers LLC Increases Position in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 298,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,989 shares during the quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $11,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:FE traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.62. 1,219,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,104,327. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 52 week low of $35.41 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.70.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. FirstEnergy’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FE. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.27.

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.