FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.56, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 6.61%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 1.9 %

FirstEnergy stock traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $42.73. The stock had a trading volume of 3,161,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,975,500. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.49. FirstEnergy has a 12 month low of $32.18 and a 12 month high of $42.80.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 97.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FE. Barclays increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.92.

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.