FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $51.41 and last traded at $51.31, with a volume of 948490 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on FE. Wolfe Research upgraded FirstEnergy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered FirstEnergy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.31.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 10.50%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.620-2.820 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corporation will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstEnergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 7th will be issued a $0.465 dividend. This is an increase from FirstEnergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 7th. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other FirstEnergy news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 1,373 shares of FirstEnergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $69,803.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 2.3% in the second quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 23,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.