FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives $46.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on FE shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up previously from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America raised FirstEnergy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total transaction of $503,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,680.51. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dakota Wealth Management grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Balanced Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 22,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

NYSE FE opened at $40.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.58. FirstEnergy has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.40.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.68%.

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.