FirstEnergy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:FE)

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 6,197 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 444% compared to the average volume of 1,140 put options.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

NYSE FE opened at $37.95 on Wednesday. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $36.81 and a one year high of $44.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.92 and a 200 day moving average of $41.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FE has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.3% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 34,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $590,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6.6% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 86,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,839,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 17.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 99,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after buying an additional 14,606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.