FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target Cut to $53.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $53.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.1%

FirstEnergy stock opened at $47.27 on Tuesday. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $48.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.55. The company has a market capitalization of $27.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FE. American National Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 380.2% in the 3rd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 187.5% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

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.