FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.83 and last traded at $50.4090, with a volume of 4442846 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $51.00 price target on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.31.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.73. The company has a market cap of $29.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 10.50%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.620-2.820 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.465 per share. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 101.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 78,328,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,588,992,000 after purchasing an additional 305,531 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in FirstEnergy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,109,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,049,255,000 after acquiring an additional 761,157 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in FirstEnergy by 13.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,344,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $841,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,400 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,463,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $600,351,000 after acquiring an additional 126,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,722,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $524,815,000 after acquiring an additional 34,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.