Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Stock Price

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its price objective lifted by Barclays from $50.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $51.00 price target on FirstEnergy in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, FirstEnergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.15.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $51.38 on Wednesday. FirstEnergy has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $52.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $29.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.60.

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

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.465 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstEnergy

In other FirstEnergy news, Director James F. Oneil sold 7,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.60, for a total transaction of $402,017.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,869 shares in the company, valued at $94,571.40. The trade was a 80.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 1,373 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $69,803.32. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 39,118 shares of company stock worth $1,989,532 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FE. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 380.2% during the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 187.5% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About FirstEnergy

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.