FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $52.8333.

FE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen raised FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the first quarter worth about $26,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 148.0% during the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE:FE opened at $45.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. FirstEnergy has a fifty-two week low of $42.87 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.29. The firm has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.46.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 10.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.465 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.94%.

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.