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

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.27.

FE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FE. Amundi raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 103.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,843,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,334,000 after acquiring an additional 939,240 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,069,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in FirstEnergy by 1,417.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 743,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,965,000 after purchasing an additional 694,313 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after purchasing an additional 457,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,198,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.1 %

FirstEnergy stock opened at $40.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.84. FirstEnergy has a 1-year low of $35.41 and a 1-year 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.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

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.