FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.09.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FE. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Argus raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:FE opened at $42.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy has a 52 week low of $34.18 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.32 and a 200 day moving average of $40.42.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 187,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 54,990 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% during the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,335,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,572,000 after buying an additional 67,469 shares during the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,867,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,317,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,422,000 after acquiring an additional 42,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 214.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after purchasing an additional 50,176 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.