Analysts Set FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) PT at $46.00

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FE. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE FE opened at $42.20 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.05. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $34.92 and a one year high of $44.97. The company has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.06). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors grew its position in FirstEnergy by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,928,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,009,615,000 after purchasing an additional 9,773,785 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,423,000 after buying an additional 218,165 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $403,517,000 after acquiring an additional 457,231 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its position in FirstEnergy by 2.0% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,152,000 after acquiring an additional 69,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,725,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,288,000 after purchasing an additional 193,540 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.