FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,300,000 shares, a drop of 6.0% from the October 15th total of 10,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FE shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of FirstEnergy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.00.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE traded up $0.18 on Monday, reaching $41.69. 2,565,017 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,956,097. The company's 50 day moving average is $43.12 and its 200-day moving average is $41.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. FirstEnergy has a fifty-two week low of $35.41 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy's payout ratio is 109.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.