Zacks Research Weighs in on FirstEnergy FY2024 Earnings

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) – Analysts at Zacks Research reduced their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for 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.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

FE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $41.73 on Thursday. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $34.92 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The company has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 214.5% in 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. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in FirstEnergy by 15.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth $227,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in FirstEnergy by 41.4% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 187,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,259,000 after acquiring an additional 54,990 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 77.5% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 18,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 8,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

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