FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its price target trimmed by Scotiabank from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.33.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $38.79 on Friday. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $36.01 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.07 and a 200 day moving average of $41.75.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently 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.