FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target Raised to $43.00

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

FE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $39.62 on Friday. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The company has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.30.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 104.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is 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.