FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

FE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE FE opened at $41.58 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.39. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $35.41 and a one year high of $44.97. 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 cap of $23.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 109.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.