FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Trading Up 2.1% – What’s Next?

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) shares shot up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $40.27 and last traded at $40.28. 1,678,769 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 3,166,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.13. The firm has a market cap of $23.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. Equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. This is a positive change from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.71%.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,198,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.9% in the third 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 valued at $104,057,000 after acquiring an additional 171,955 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 47,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 14,129 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $664,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 186,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,267,000 after purchasing an additional 26,874 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.