FirstEnergy FY2024 EPS Estimate Decreased by Zacks Research

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) – Analysts at Zacks Research reduced their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of FirstEnergy in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, October 28th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.70 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.71. The consensus estimate for FirstEnergy’s current full-year earnings is $2.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for FirstEnergy’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.62 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.66 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $0.95 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on FE. Argus raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

NYSE:FE opened at $41.82 on Thursday. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $34.92 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in FirstEnergy by 41.4% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 187,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,259,000 after buying an additional 54,990 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,335,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,572,000 after buying an additional 67,469 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.3% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,317,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,422,000 after purchasing an additional 42,484 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 214.5% during the first 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 period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the first quarter valued at $929,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

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.