Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stock Holdings in FirstEnergy Corporation $FE

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) by 32.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,141,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 282,866 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $54,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $256,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 43,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $46.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.31. FirstEnergy Corporation has a one year low of $42.87 and a one year high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.465 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $53.00 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.83.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid?Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.