FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02, reports. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. FirstEnergy updated its Q2 2024 guidance to 0.500-0.600 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 2.610-2.810 EPS.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE opened at $38.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy has a fifty-two week low of $32.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 94.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. 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 report on Tuesday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FE. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 327.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 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.