FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.27.

FE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balanced Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $40.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy has a 12 month low of $35.41 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.00 and its 200-day moving average is $41.83. The firm has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.52.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

About FirstEnergy

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.