FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,110,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the August 31st total of 11,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on FE shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus upgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 41.4% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 187,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,259,000 after purchasing an additional 54,990 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,335,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,572,000 after buying an additional 67,469 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter worth about $9,867,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,317,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,422,000 after buying an additional 42,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 214.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 73,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,841,000 after buying an additional 50,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

NYSE:FE opened at $44.51 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.31. The firm has a market cap of $25.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $32.18 and a one year 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 6.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Research analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.70%.

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.