FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Short Interest Update

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,830,000 shares, a decline of 10.6% from the September 15th total of 12,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $43.49. 2,598,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,939,507. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.69. The company has a market cap of $25.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy has a twelve month low of $34.73 and a twelve month high of $44.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on FE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 187,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 54,990 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,335,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,572,000 after purchasing an additional 67,469 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.3% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,317,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,422,000 after buying an additional 42,484 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 214.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after buying an additional 50,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the first quarter valued at about $929,000. 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.