$2.68 Billion in Sales Expected for FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) This Quarter

Wall Street brokerages predict that FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE – Get Rating) will announce sales of $2.68 billion for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Three analysts have made estimates for FirstEnergy’s earnings. The lowest sales estimate is $2.63 billion and the highest is $2.78 billion. FirstEnergy posted sales of $2.62 billion during the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year-over-year growth rate of 2.3%. The company is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that FirstEnergy will report full year sales of $11.43 billion for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $11.31 billion to $11.51 billion. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the company will report sales of $11.79 billion, with estimates ranging from $11.72 billion to $11.86 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are an average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for FirstEnergy.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.02). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised FirstEnergy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Friday, January 7th. Credit Suisse Group started coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.25.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FE. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 120,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,006,000 after purchasing an additional 9,301 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 454.9% in the 4th quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 35,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,472,000 after buying an additional 29,115 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 1,813.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 425,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,156,000 after buying an additional 403,251 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $423,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in FirstEnergy by 35.3% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 602,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,471,000 after purchasing an additional 157,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.82% of the company’s stock.

FE opened at $45.44 on Tuesday. FirstEnergy has a twelve month low of $35.42 and a twelve month high of $48.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.35.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 5th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.64%.

About FirstEnergy (Get Rating)

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, natural gas, wind, and solar power generating facilities.

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