FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives $46.27 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.33.

A number of analysts have commented on FE shares. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.8 %

FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $36.81 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. On average, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during 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.