Why FirstEnergy Stock Fell 17% at the Open Today

Shares of electric utility FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) fell a dramatic 17.5% at the open of trading on Wednesday. The company put out three news releases on Tuesday. But the shortest one (amounting to a couple of sentences), released after the market had closed for the day, was the reason for the sharp price drop today.

The initial FirstEnergy news release was about preparing customers for summer heat, not particularly unusual for a utility. The second was about the company maintaining the dividend at its current level (not bad news, though a dividend hike would have been better).

The third and final news release, issued at 4:17 p.m. EDT, said only: "This afternoon, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) received subpoenas in connection with the investigation surrounding Ohio House Bill 6. We are reviewing the details of the investigation and we intend to fully cooperate."

Source Fool.com