FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $39.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.26. 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 has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 104.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd 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. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.