Short Interest in FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Rises By 10.0%

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,290,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the January 15th total of 10,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.5 %

FirstEnergy stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,046,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,835,380. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.83 and a 200-day moving average of $41.81. The stock has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $36.01 and a one year high of $44.97.

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 paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank raised FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.