FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.58.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE stock opened at $44.97 on Friday. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $43.00 and a one year high of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.87.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is 98.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is an electric utility holding company focused on the transmission and distribution of electricity. Through its regulated operating companies, the company delivers power to residential, commercial and industrial customers and maintains the local infrastructure needed to support reliable electric service.

FirstEnergy’s utility operations include Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison, Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power, Jersey Central Power & Light and Mon Power, among others.