FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Given New $47.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its target price raised by Evercore ISI from $41.00 to $47.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America raised shares of FirstEnergy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.85.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $42.76 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.67. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $12,198,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 48,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after buying an additional 17,506 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 14,129 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at $664,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 6,689.2% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 10,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 10,569 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.