FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $43.05, but opened at $40.81. FirstEnergy shares last traded at $39.78, with a volume of 3,277,171 shares changing hands.

The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp reduced 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,843,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,619,270,000 after buying an additional 508,570 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 73.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 16,503,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,309,000 after buying an additional 6,991,866 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,527,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $497,009,000 after buying an additional 329,049 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,318,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $371,911,000 after buying an additional 220,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 8,340,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $331,795,000 after buying an additional 3,133,083 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $40.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.75. The stock has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

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.