FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho set a $43.00 price objective on FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total value of $503,640.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,680.51. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FE. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,269,000. Intrua Financial LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 63.5% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 18,927 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:FE opened at $40.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.40. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.62. FirstEnergy has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. FirstEnergy's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. This is a boost from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is presently 94.68%.

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.

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