FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $45.92.

FE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $43.00 price objective on FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at FirstEnergy

In other FirstEnergy news, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 12,000 shares of FirstEnergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $516,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 99,919 shares in the company, valued at $4,299,514.57. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of FirstEnergy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total value of $503,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,680.51. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 186.4% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 1.3%

FE stock opened at $41.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.57. FirstEnergy has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.68%.

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.