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

Shares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE – Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.58.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FE shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th.

Get Our Latest Research Report on FE

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 85,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after buying an additional 25,571 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,878,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 6,066.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 495,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,547,000 after acquiring an additional 487,267 shares during the period. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth about $15,172,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 194.9% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 53,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 35,595 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE FE opened at $43.38 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.43. The company has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.43. FirstEnergy has a 12 month low of $42.67 and a 12 month high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.4650 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.94%.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

FirstEnergy Corp. is an electric utility holding company focused primarily on regulated electricity transmission and distribution. Through its operating companies, the company delivers electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and maintains the infrastructure needed to support reliable service.

FirstEnergy’s utility subsidiaries include Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison in Ohio; Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power and West Penn Power in Pennsylvania; Jersey Central Power & Light in New Jersey; and Mon Power and Potomac Edison in West Virginia and Maryland.

Further Reading

Analyst Recommendations for FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE)

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