FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Downgraded to “Peer Perform” Rating by Wolfe Research

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wolfe Research from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Finviz reports.

FE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded FirstEnergy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.27.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FE opened at $39.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. FirstEnergy has a 1-year low of $35.41 and a 1-year high of $44.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.44 and its 200-day moving average is $41.79.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 4,571.4% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.