FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $43.05, but opened at $40.81. FirstEnergy shares last traded at $39.78, with a volume of 3,277,171 shares.

The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FE. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,198,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,154,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in FirstEnergy by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $664,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 10.1 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

About FirstEnergy

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.