FY2024 EPS Estimates for FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Raised by Zacks Research

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research lifted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of FirstEnergy in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 23rd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.66 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.63. The consensus estimate for FirstEnergy's current full-year earnings is $2.66 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for FirstEnergy's Q4 2025 earnings at $0.56 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.87 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FE. KeyCorp boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut FirstEnergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.80.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FE traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $38.58. 3,289,719 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,346,997. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.48. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $32.18 and a 12-month high of $41.15. The firm has a market cap of $22.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $37.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.08.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.56%. The firm's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in FirstEnergy by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 68,155,129 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,498,567,000 after buying an additional 18,853,983 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 31.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,827,860 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $540,996,000 after buying an additional 3,756,228 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in FirstEnergy by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,307,995 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $121,271,000 after buying an additional 1,158,034 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in FirstEnergy by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,454,376 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,637,000 after buying an additional 590,815 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in FirstEnergy by 3.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,573,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $463,950,000 after buying an additional 407,350 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.61%.

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.