FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.27.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FE stock opened at $39.79 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.61. The company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy has a twelve month low of $35.41 and a twelve month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after acquiring an additional 457,231 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.0% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $136,152,000 after purchasing an additional 69,512 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,546,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,081,000 after purchasing an additional 34,151 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,725,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,288,000 after purchasing an additional 193,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 7.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,057,000 after buying an additional 171,955 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.