FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $40.68 and last traded at $40.66, with a volume of 110759 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.42.

The newly announced 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. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FE. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.55.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.6 %

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 50-day moving average of $39.06 and a 200-day moving average of $38.25. The firm has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.36 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FE. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 327.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.