FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.27.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FE shares. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 1,417.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 743,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,965,000 after buying an additional 694,313 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $403,517,000 after buying an additional 457,231 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at $12,198,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4,445.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 219,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,732,000 after purchasing an additional 214,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 171,955 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $39.82 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.52. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $35.41 and a one year high of $44.97. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 109.68%.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

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.