FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FE shares. KeyCorp downgraded FirstEnergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.1%

FE stock opened at $44.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.92. The company has a market cap of $25.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.66. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $48.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. FirstEnergy’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American National Bank & Trust boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 380.2% during the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the third quarter worth $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 187.5% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.