FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.38.

FE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 214.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after purchasing an additional 50,176 shares during the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Navalign LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 18,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth $693,000. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 44,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $37.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.38. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $41.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.90. The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 0.48.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 8.56%. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

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

FirstEnergy Company Profile

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.