FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Argus

Argus upgraded shares of FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $50.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $44.18.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $44.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy has a 52 week low of $32.18 and a 52 week high of $44.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 14.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,928,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,009,615,000 after purchasing an additional 9,773,785 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,517,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,423,000 after purchasing an additional 218,165 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,930,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $344,908,000 after purchasing an additional 82,482 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its position in FirstEnergy by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 3,557,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,152,000 after purchasing an additional 69,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,454,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,637,000 after buying an additional 590,815 shares during the period. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.