FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyShares of FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $52.29 and last traded at $50.4390, with a volume of 1178598 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $50.03.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have commented on FE shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.71.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on FirstEnergy
FirstEnergy Stock Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.72. The company has a market cap of $29.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.61.
FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 10.50%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.620-2.820 EPS. Equities analysts predict that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.
FirstEnergy Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.465 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 7th. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is 101.14%.
Insider Buying and Selling at FirstEnergy
In other news, Director James F. Oneil sold 7,945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.60, for a total value of $402,017.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,571.40. This represents a 80.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jon Taylor K. sold 26,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.94, for a total transaction of $1,365,192.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 119,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,089,978.88. This trade represents a 18.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,118 shares of company stock worth $1,989,532. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 78,328,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,588,992,000 after purchasing an additional 305,531 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,109,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,049,255,000 after purchasing an additional 761,157 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in FirstEnergy by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,344,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $841,161,000 after buying an additional 2,185,400 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,463,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $600,351,000 after buying an additional 126,834 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in FirstEnergy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,722,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $524,815,000 after buying an additional 34,014 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
FirstEnergy Company Profile
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.