Dividend investors may want to consider the following stocks, as they are currently topping the S&P 500 index in terms of higher dividend yields. The benchmark for the U.S. market offers an average yield of 1.91% as of July 1.

Furthermore, Wall Street sell-side analysts have issued positive recommendation ratings for these stocks, indicating their share prices are expected to move higher.

FirstEnergy Corp

The first company that qualifies is FirstEnergy Corp (FE), an Akron, Ohio-based producer and distributor of electricity in the U.S.

Based on Wednesday's closing price of $39.88 per share, FirstEnergy Corp grants a trailing 12-month dividend

In a brutal market environment, where even the most staid and established blue-chip companies have been forced to either cut or reduce their dividends, there seems to be few sectors that are safe from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging companies' earnings.

The carnage continues, this time in the energy services sector with Schlumberger (SLB) announcing yesterday an unprecedented — albeit necessary — 75% slashing of its dividend. For the moment, Chevron (CVX) remains unbowed in the face of unrelenting downward pressure on oil prices in a world where the supply is now so abundant that

According to the GuruFocus All-in-One Screener, a Premium feature, the following guru-owned stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 Index over the past 12 months as of Feb. 3.

FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) has a market cap of $27.55 billion. It has outperformed the S&P 500 by 12.54% over the past year.

Shares are trading with a price-earnings ratio of 23.95. According to the discounted cash flow calculator, the stock is overpriced by 102% at $51. As of Monday, the share price was 33.77% above the 52-week low and 0.18% below the 52-week high.

The American investor-owned utility company has

According to the GuruFocus All-in-One Screener as of Monday, the following companies have high dividend yields but performed poorly over the past 12 months.

FirstEnergy Corp.'s (FE) dividend yield is 3.13% with a payout ratio of 0.67. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has risen 29.23%. Shares are trading with a price-book ratio of 3.59 and a price-earnings ratio of 22.62.

The company, which operates in the regulated utilities industry, has a market cap of $26.09 billion and a profitability and growth rating of 6 out of 10. While the return on equity

According to GuruFocus' list of 52-week highs, these guru stocks have reached their 52-week highs.

American Tower Corp. (AMT) reached the 52-week high of $222.23

American Tower owns and leases roughly 150,000 cell towers throughout the U.S., Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. It leases space on its towers to wireless service providers, who install equipment on the towers to support their wireless networks. The company has a very concentrated customer base, with most revenue in each market being generated by just the top few mobile carriers. The company operates more than 40,000 towers

The largest Insider Buys this week were for FirstEnergy Corp. (FE), American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL), The Hershey Co. (HSY) and Corteva Inc. (CTVA).

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE): Director Christopher D. Pappas bought 3,000 shares

Director Christopher D. Pappas bought 3,000 shares of FE stock on May 30 at the average price of $41.14. The price of the stock has increased by 5.15% since.

FirstEnergy Corp. is an American energy company that has subsidiaries involved in the generation, transmission, and distribution of energy as well as energy management and other related services. Its ten electric utility operating companies make up the

Elliott Management leader Paul Singer (Trades, Portfolio) disclosed that he established six new positions when he released his third-quarter portfolio earlier this week.

As a well-known activist investor, the guru’s New York-based firm takes large stakes in underperforming companies and then encourages management to implement changes that will improve performance and profitability.

During the quarter, Singer started positions in FirstEnergy Corp. (FE), Nielsen Holdings PLC (NLSN), LogMeIn Inc. (LOGM), Community Health Systems Inc. (CYH), Sabre Corp. (SABR) and Mitek Systems Inc. (MITK).

FirstEnergy

The guru’s largest new buy of the quarter was a 25.04 million-share stake in

Causeway Capital Management leader Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio) released her portfolio for the final quarter of 2017 on Wednesday, disclosing she opened four new positions.

The firm, which Ketterer founded in 2001 with Harry Hartford, notes on it its website it seeks to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns by investing in mispriced equities in both developed and emerging markets. The current portfolio of 92 stocks is largely composed of equities in the technology sector.

The guru investor established positions in three stocks and one exchange-traded fund during the quarter: FirstEnergy Corp. (FE), Credicorp Ltd. (BAP), Autohome Inc.

In Monday premarket trading, FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) gained more than 10% after the company announced a $2.5 billion investment, which includes $1.62 billion in mandatory convertible preferred equity and $850 million of common equity.

The preferred equity has an initial conversion price of $27.42 per share and will receive dividends on an as-converted basis and will be mostly non-voting.

The common equity will be priced at $28.22 a share. The funds will be used to reduce debt and search for growth opportunities.

FirstEnergy will form a restructuring working group to guide the company's transformation into a fully regulated utility.

The

U.S. stock markets are set to open slightly lower on Monday after ending higher on Friday and today’s expectation of a quick resolution to the government shutdown.

Shares of Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) traded higher on premarket Monday session on the back of a first-quarter profit and sales outlook that was higher than expectations.

Now, the voice and language services company expects earnings per share in the range of 15 cents to 18 cents a share, compared with a loss of 8 cents a share, in the same trimester a year ago. Further, adjusted earnings per share are projected

During the second quarter, the T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) established one new position and divested three others.

Managed by John Linehan, the fund seeks dividend income and long-term capital growth by investing in mostly large-cap companies. The current portfolio is composed of 101 stocks.

The fund purchased nearly 3.7 million shares of Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) for an average price of $61.26 per share, giving it 1.08% portfolio space.

The food company has a market cap of $22.1 billion; its shares were trading around $61.67 on Tuesday with a price-earnings (P/E) ratio of

Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) founded Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund Bridgewater Associates in 1975. In both fourth-quarter 2016 and first-quarter 2017 the guru bought shares in the following stocks:

Carnival Corp. (CCL)

During the fourth quarter, the guru increased the position by 201.16% and increased it by 42.27% in the first quarter. The guru holds 0.02% of the company’s outstanding shares.

Carnival is a leisure travel company providing vacations to major cruise destinations across the world. It operates over 100 cruise ship brands including Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America, Princess Cruise, Seabourn

The T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio), which has a conservative, value-oriented approach to pursuing dividend income and long-term capital growth, sold the following stocks during the first quarter:

The fund closed its position in Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) with an impact of -0.67% on the portfolio.

Union Pacific is a rail transporting company whose operating company is Union Pacific Railroad Co. It links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail.

GuruFocus gives the stock a profitability and growth rating of 8 out of 10. The return on equity

GGP Inc (GGP), FirstEnergy Corp (FE), Plum Creek Timber Co Inc (PCL), and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY) have declined to their three-year lows.

GGP Inc (GGP) Declined to $21.61

The prices of GGP Inc (GGP) shares declined to $21.61 on April 28, which is only 0.4% above the 3-year low of $21.52.

GGP Inc is an American real estate investment trust company that owns and manages shopping malls throughout the United States. The company has interest in 120 regional shopping malls in forty states, and has been in the shopping center industry for more than 60 years. The

According to GuruFocus’ list, these stocks have reached their 52-week lows.

Coca-Cola reached the 52-week low of $40.44

The price of Coca-Cola Co. (KO) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $40.44, which is 15.4% off the 52-week high of $47.13. The company has a market cap of $174.42 billion.

As of Feb. 15 its shares traded at $40.44 with a price-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24.52 and a price-sales (P/S) ratio of 4.22. Coca-Cola's trailing 12-month dividend yield is 3.46%. The forward dividend yield is 3.45%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of 4.30% over

According to GuruFocus, these stocks have reached their 52-week lows.

Target reached the 52-week low of $64.77

The price of Target Corp. (TGT) shares has declined to close to the 52-week low of $64.77, which is 25.2% off the 52-week high of $84.14. The company has a market cap of $36.38 billion.

Its shares traded at $64.77 with a price-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.52 and a price-sales (P/S) ratio of 0.55 as of Feb. 8. Target's trailing 12-month dividend yield is 3.57%. The forward dividend yield is 3.78%. The company had an annual average earnings growth of

FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) reached $30.04

The prices of FirstEnergy shares have declined to $30.04, which is only 3.8% above the three-year low of $28.89.

FirstEnergy is an American energy company that has subsidiaries involved in the generation, transmission and distribution of energy as well as energy management and other related services. Its 10 electric utility operating companies make up the U.S.’ largest investor-owned utility.

FirstEnergy has a market cap of $12.8 billion; its shares were traded around $30.04 with a P/S ratio of 0.88. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of FirstEnergy stocks is 4.81%. The forward dividend yield is 4.75%.

(Published Nov. 30 by Bob Ciura)

FirstEnergy (FE) stock has a tantalizing 4.4% dividend yield. With interest rates still very low, the yield looks appealing as an income investment.

But FirstEnergy has a checkered past.

The company committed the cardinal sin in dividend investing: It cut its payout (by 34.5%) in 2014.

Sure Dividend typically focuses on high quality dividend growth stocks, businesses that have both the ability and willingness to increase their dividends year after year. A good example of these types of stocks is the Dividend Aristocrats list – a group of 50 stocks with 25-plus years

According to GuruFocus list of 5-year lows, these Guru stocks have reached their 5-year lows: FirstEnergy Corp, Staples Inc, Avon Products Inc, and American Eagle Outfitters

FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE:FE) Reached $31.89

The prices of FirstEnergy Corp (FE) shares have declined to $31.89, which is only 5.6% above the 5-year low of $30.10. It is now 41.1% off the 5-year high of $51.14. FirstEnergy Corp is owned by 9 Gurus we are tracking. Among them, 3 have added to their positions during the past quarter. 8 reduced their positions. FirstEnergy Corp. was organized under the laws of the State of

Using the GuruFocus Aggregated Portfolio Screener you can filter results to see what companies maintain the highest amount of guru ownership. By using this screener, we filtered down to see energy companies which are held by the most gurus. The following five utilities companies are held by the largest number of gurus during the past quarter.

NRG Energy (NRG)

As of the close of the fourth quarter there were 15 guru owners of NRG Energy. During the past quarter there were eight gurus buying shares of NRG and there were seven gurus making sells of their stake in