FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Eight of 12 covering firms rate FirstEnergy a buy and four recommend holding; the average 12-month price target is $50.77.
• FirstEnergy beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $0.98 versus $0.90 expected and revenue of $4.56 billion, up 12.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.465 per share, equivalent to $1.86 annually and a 4.0% yield.

Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.77.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $47.00 target price on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstEnergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.99. 2,519,631 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,856,562. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The company has a market cap of $27.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.50. FirstEnergy has a 52-week low of $42.67 and a 52-week high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The business's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a $0.4650 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is presently 89.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth $36,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. is an investor-owned electric utility holding company focused primarily on regulated electricity transmission and distribution. Through its utility subsidiaries, it delivers electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland. The company's operations include maintaining local electric distribution networks and owning and operating high-voltage transmission infrastructure across portions of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.

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