FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FE opened at $42.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.59. FirstEnergy has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.42.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total transaction of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 99,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,299,514.57. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FE. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 226.9% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.