$2.82 Billion in Sales Expected for FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) This Quarter

Brokerages expect FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) to post $2.82 billion in sales for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have made estimates for FirstEnergy’s earnings. The highest sales estimate is $2.84 billion and the lowest is $2.80 billion. FirstEnergy reported sales of $2.67 billion in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year-over-year growth rate of 5.6%. The company is expected to report its next earnings results on Friday, February 5th.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that FirstEnergy will report full-year sales of $11.05 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $10.99 billion to $11.09 billion. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the firm will post sales of $11.74 billion, with estimates ranging from $11.52 billion to $12.06 billion. Zacks’ sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of research firms that follow FirstEnergy.

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FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Saturday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.05. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 20.15%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 18th. BidaskClub downgraded FirstEnergy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 15th. Bank of America lowered FirstEnergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered FirstEnergy from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.41.

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $30.79 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.79. FirstEnergy has a twelve month low of $22.85 and a twelve month high of $52.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 0.16.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 4th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.07%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.47%.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FE. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 49,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,501,000 after acquiring an additional 8,691 shares during the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 33,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 8,573 shares during the period. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 105.2% in the 4th quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 118,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,625,000 after acquiring an additional 60,721 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 165.1% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 18,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 11,374 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.09% of the company’s stock.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments. It owns and operates coal-fired, nuclear, hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, and solar power generating facilities.

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