Scotiabank Boosts FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target to $45.00

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its target price increased by Scotiabank from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

FE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $42.18.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of FE stock opened at $43.20 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $32.18 and a 12-month high of $43.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.23 and its 200 day moving average is $38.95.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Research analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Balanced Wealth Group LLC grew its position in FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6.2% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

About FirstEnergy

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.