UBS Group Raises FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target to $43.00

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Free Report) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider's stock.

FE has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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 report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $45.00.

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FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,124,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,119,225. The company has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.44, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.30. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $36.81 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. FirstEnergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FE. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $4,253,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 39,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 215,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,591,000 after purchasing an additional 8,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. 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.