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

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

FE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:FE opened at $40.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.09. The stock has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $36.81 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. 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.