FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Short Interest Down 8.8% in March

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,630,000 shares, a drop of 8.8% from the March 15th total of 12,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $37.40. 2,638,924 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,444,806. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $32.18 and a 12-month high of $41.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $37.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.88.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is currently 90.61%.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 4.7% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,425 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the second quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 13,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on FE shares. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of FirstEnergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.38.

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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