FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.80.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 68,155,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,498,567,000 after purchasing an additional 18,853,983 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,827,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $540,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,756,228 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,307,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $121,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158,034 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,454,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,637,000 after purchasing an additional 590,815 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,573,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $463,950,000 after purchasing an additional 407,350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $39.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy has a 1-year low of $32.18 and a 1-year high of $40.42.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 12.45%. FirstEnergy’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.70%.

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.