Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE – Get Rating) by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,533 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned 0.05% of FirstEnergy worth $11,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FE. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 16,830 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 99,266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,552,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 10,415 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 117,289 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares during the last quarter. 87.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 23rd. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $51.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.75.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 15.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Research analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 7th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 4th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is currently 63.41%.

FirstEnergy Profile

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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, natural gas, wind, and solar power generating facilities.

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