FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target Increased to $46.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Free Report) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $45.00 to $46.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating and a $46.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.91.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.4 %

FirstEnergy stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,096,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,935,334. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $43.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.72. The stock has a market cap of $25.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $34.73 and a one year high of $44.97. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 36.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 929 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.2% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,995 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company's stock.

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.