FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Guggenheim from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.94% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.15.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $38.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,220,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,337,992. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.98. 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 market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. FirstEnergy has a 1-year low of $36.81 and a 1-year high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 293.0% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About FirstEnergy

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.