Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Stock Price

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $52.00 to $50.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.91.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FE traded down $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,163,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,202,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.44. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $35.41 and a one year high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 22,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 9,372 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 3.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,139 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth $325,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 88,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,414,000 after buying an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $617,000. 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.