FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) Expected to Post Quarterly Sales of $2.78 Billion

Analysts forecast that FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE – Get Rating) will post $2.78 billion in sales for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts have issued estimates for FirstEnergy’s earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $2.92 billion and the lowest estimate coming in at $2.64 billion. FirstEnergy posted sales of $2.62 billion during the same quarter last year, which suggests a positive year-over-year growth rate of 6.1%. The company is scheduled to announce its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that FirstEnergy will report full-year sales of $11.77 billion for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $11.51 billion to $12.13 billion. For the next year, analysts expect that the firm will post sales of $12.16 billion, with estimates ranging from $11.86 billion to $12.50 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that follow FirstEnergy.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 10.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 25th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 20th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.33.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.6% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 11,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.5% during the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 7,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 10.7% during the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.78% of the company’s stock.

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $41.83 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.37. FirstEnergy has a 52-week low of $35.42 and a 52-week high of $48.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.44.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 6th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 5th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. FirstEnergy’s payout ratio is currently 69.64%.

About FirstEnergy (Get Rating)

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, natural gas, wind, and solar power generating facilities.

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