KeyCorp Boosts FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target to $47.00

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its price objective hoisted by KeyCorp from $46.00 to $47.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on FE. Scotiabank raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $44.55.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $43.42 on Monday. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $32.97 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.27 and its 200 day moving average is $40.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is presently 97.70%.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 187,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 54,990 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,335,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,572,000 after buying an additional 67,469 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,867,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,317,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,422,000 after buying an additional 42,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 214.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after buying an additional 50,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.