FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56, Briefing.com reports. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 8.22%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE traded up $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $41.90. 4,662,196 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,973,543. FirstEnergy has a 12 month low of $32.18 and a 12 month high of $42.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.49.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 97.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FE. Bank of America boosted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.55.

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.