FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Sets New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $50.44 and last traded at $49.38, with a volume of 6094159 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.10.

The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 10.47%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.620-2.820 EPS.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be given a $0.465 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 7th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

FirstEnergy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting FirstEnergy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 2025 results beat expectations — FE reported $0.53 EPS vs. $0.52 consensus and revenue of $3.80B (above estimates); management hit the top end of 2025 guidance and set 2026 EPS guidance of $2.620–2.820, supporting the company’s earnings outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price-target lift — Scotiabank raised its price target from $55 to $56 and assigned a “sector outperform” rating, implying ~12.7% upside from current levels; this institutional support can buoy sentiment and buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large grid-investment / capex outlook supports longer-term growth — Company commentary and coverage highlight a sizable capex plan (cited around $36B) to modernize the grid, which underpins revenue and rate-base growth. This underlies the company’s affirmed 2026 outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Concrete reliability projects announced/completed — New/expanded substations: a Berks County project to strengthen service for 6,000+ customers and a completed Potomac Edison substation serving ~2,400 customers, demonstrating near-term execution of grid upgrades. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings-call materials and transcripts are available for deeper inspection — investors can review the transcript and presentation for management commentary on margins, rate cases and capex phasing. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising regulatory/political risk from PJM capacity-auction dynamics — Analysts flag that elevated PJM prices and policy changes could raise customer bills and complicate recovery of grid investments, introducing execution and regulatory risk to the outlook. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $51.00 price objective on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in FirstEnergy by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 23,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.52. The stock has a market cap of $28.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.75.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.