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

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.75.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered FirstEnergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 186.4% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 380.2% during the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $47.33 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.44. The stock has a market cap of $27.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.64. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $48.20.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 11.15%. FirstEnergy’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

About FirstEnergy

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.