FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Lowered to “Peer Perform” Rating by Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank raised FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FE stock opened at $39.18 on Thursday. 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 has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The company has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.77.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.68%.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,517,000 after purchasing an additional 457,231 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,546,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,081,000 after buying an additional 34,151 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,346,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,057,000 after buying an additional 171,955 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,896,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,570,000 after buying an additional 104,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,622,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,960,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.