FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $56.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.83.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of FE opened at $46.77 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.45. FirstEnergy has a fifty-two week low of $42.87 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.465 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 98.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FE. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 11,305.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,974,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $81,699,000 after buying an additional 1,957,673 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 85,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,817,000 after buying an additional 25,571 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6,066.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 495,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,547,000 after acquiring an additional 487,267 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,878,000. Finally, BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,172,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.