FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fifteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

Several research firms have commented on FE. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balanced Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 19,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 59.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:FE opened at $39.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy has a 52 week low of $36.81 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.94 and a 200-day moving average of $41.26.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. Analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 104.71%.

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.