FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Thirteen firms rate FirstEnergy a consensus “Moderate Buy,” with seven buy ratings and six holds. The average 12-month price target is $52.83, above the reported $47.37 share price.
• FirstEnergy’s latest quarterly results met expectations with EPS of $0.50, while revenue of $3.68 billion exceeded the $3.51 billion consensus estimate. Analysts project full-year EPS of $2.74.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.465 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.86 payout and a 3.9% dividend yield; institutional investors own 89.41% of outstanding shares.

Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.8333.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FE shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of FirstEnergy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $53.00 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $47.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $47.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.32. The stock has a market cap of $27.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.46. FirstEnergy has a 1-year low of $42.72 and a 1-year high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.465 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,109,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,049,255,000 after buying an additional 761,157 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 13.5% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,344,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $841,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,400 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,463,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $600,351,000 after purchasing an additional 126,834 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,722,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $524,815,000 after buying an additional 34,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,971,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $508,158,000 after purchasing an additional 694,449 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. NYSE: FE is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company's primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy's service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy's core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.

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