FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Releases Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56, Briefing.com reports. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FE traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.90. The stock had a trading volume of 4,662,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,543. The company has a market capitalization of $24.11 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $42.14.

FirstEnergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 97.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FE shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.55.

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.