Wolfe Research Downgrades FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) to Peer Perform

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) was downgraded by analysts at Wolfe Research from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Scotiabank upgraded FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.4 %

FirstEnergy stock opened at $39.18 on Thursday. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $35.41 and a one year high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.77.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,417.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 743,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,965,000 after buying an additional 694,313 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,098,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $403,517,000 after purchasing an additional 457,231 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the second quarter valued at about $14,933,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $12,198,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,445.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 219,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,732,000 after purchasing an additional 214,606 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.