Zacks Research Research Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for FirstEnergy in a research note issued on Thursday, June 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.68 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.66. The consensus estimate for FirstEnergy’s current full-year earnings is $2.69 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for FirstEnergy’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.66 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.89 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.68 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.06 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.27.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.90. 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 $22.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy has a 1-year low of $32.18 and a 1-year high of $40.65.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 97.70%.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

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.