FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.43 on March 1st

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 18th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.425 per share by the utilities provider on Saturday, March 1st. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th.

FirstEnergy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.6% per year over the last three years. FirstEnergy has a payout ratio of 55.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect FirstEnergy to earn $2.89 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.70 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.8%.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $40.01 on Wednesday. FirstEnergy has a 1-year low of $35.41 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.10 and its 200-day moving average is $41.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FE. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upgraded FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.27.

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.