FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.7143.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FE. Mizuho set a $51.00 target price on FirstEnergy in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Key FirstEnergy News

Here are the key news stories impacting FirstEnergy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on FE to $55 (from $50) while keeping a “neutral” rating — the new target implies roughly mid-single-digit upside from recent levels and provides near-term analyst support for the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: FirstEnergy plans to invest about $950 million in Ohio and Pennsylvania grid upgrades — a sizable capital program that should grow the regulated rate base, improve reliability, and support long‑term earnings/stability for a utility. Investors typically view transmission/distribution upgrades as earnings-accretive over time when recoverable through regulators. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market filings and company notices show FirstEnergy increased its quarterly dividend to $0.465 (annualized $1.86, ~3.6% yield), which supports income-focused investor interest and helps underpin the stock’s defensive appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: FirstEnergy issued a storm-preparedness notice as crews stand ready for high winds across its service territory — operationally positive for outage response but routine and unlikely to move fundamentals unless major damage occurs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO Jon Taylor sold 26,800 shares (~$1.36M at ~$50.94) and director James F. Oneil sold 7,945 shares (~$402k at $50.60) in recent Form 4 filings. Large insider disposals can pressure sentiment even if they’re for personal liquidity or diversification. CFO Form 4 Director Form 4

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstEnergy news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $152,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $364,827.84. This trade represents a 29.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 26,800 shares of FirstEnergy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.94, for a total value of $1,365,192.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 119,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,089,978.88. This trade represents a 18.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,118 shares of company stock valued at $1,989,532. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 198.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,888,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578,375 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $123,018,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,332,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 13.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,344,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $841,161,000 after buying an additional 2,185,400 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,506,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,515,000 after buying an additional 1,977,504 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE FE opened at $51.17 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.34. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $51.75. The firm has a market cap of $29.57 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.50% and a net margin of 6.76%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.620-2.820 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 7th will be given a $0.465 dividend. This is a boost from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.14%.

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.