FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Trading Up 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) rose 2.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.27 and last traded at $40.28. Approximately 1,678,769 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 3,166,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective 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 dropped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.18. The stock has a market cap of $23.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.71%.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in 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.